What You Need
by GoldenSunshineLight
Summary: (AU) Oliver is just your average billionaire CEO who somehow convinced his best friend to be his EA, and is still hung up on his ex girlfriend. Sometimes what you want, isn't necessarily what you need. (Olicity)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi! :) This plot bunny planted it's little fluffy tail right in my mind and refused to leave so I had to write it. :) This is an Olicity fanfic where Oliver is just your regular CEO. As a result, you'll notice that Oliver isn't his regular brooding self...he simply has no reason to be (he didn't go through five years of hell). **

**Anyway, this chapter is MUCH longer than I originally intended it to be. I can tell you now that not all the chapters will be this long. I don't know exactly how many chapters there will be, but I don't think this fanfic will be too long. I italicize past events so that it's clear that I am talking about the past.  
**

**Enjoy! Let me know what you think!**

* * *

Oliver sighed heavily, running a hand over his face. He glanced at his watch: 11:30. Another half hour before this meeting was over and that was _assuming_ that the meeting wouldn't drag out. He knew that this was important, but he couldn't bring himself to listen anymore. All he wanted was to rest his head on the desk for five blissful minutes of sleep.

He jumped slightly when a soft hand came to rest over his. "Only half an hour."

He smiled gratefully at her. She'd repeated the information he'd known, but Felicity always made it better. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten so lucky to have a best friend like Felicity, but he was grateful for her presence in his life every single day. She retracted her hand and smiled at him once more before returning her attention to the meeting.

It passed relatively quickly and soon he was back in his office, leaning back in his chair, and staring listlessly at the city below. His phone rang and he took a moment to glance at the picture on the screen, smiling slightly: Tommy. "Hey."

"Oliver, guess who's back and will be at Friday's charity gala," Tommy said hurriedly over the phone.

Oliver could just picture a smug little smile on his face. He always had one of those whenever he did the 'guess who', or 'guess what'. But Oliver knew because Tommy had been the one to tell him that she was planning on coming back to Starling. His heartbeat sped up slightly at the very thought. "Laurel," he said. The one great love of his life. He'd screwed it up years ago in high school and now she was coming back. He'd spoken to her of course and they'd patched things up, but with her living in Central City, there wasn't really a way that they could have tried being in a relationship again.

"Yep. I'm heading over to the train station to pick her up right now. She's staying at my place for a few days until she gets her apartment furnished and whatnot, so if you want to casually drop by…," he left it hanging.

Oliver chuckled. He appreciated the effort to bring them together, but he wanted to give Laurel some space. He'd changed and she knew that, but he didn't want to screw it up again. This time he needed to do things right. "No. Spend time with your best friend. I'll see her at the gala on Friday."

"Alright, but she's your best friend too," Tommy reminded him.

"She's closer to you. Anyway, I'll stop by the club tonight just to make sure everything runs smoothly without my trusty manager."

Tommy chuckled on the other end of the line and they said their goodbyes.

It was around five when Oliver heard Felicity's heals approaching his desk. He looked up from the stack of paperwork, glad for the destraction.

"Really Oliver? I completely forgot about the meeting tomorrow morning. You could have reminded me that it's with Cruella de Vil!"

He could see that she was slightly peeved, but he couldn't help it, he laughed. His booming laughter filled the office and she crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to finish. Her resolve was slipping though, he knew, because she bit her lip to keep from laughing. He simply looked at her for a moment, lips pressed together. Sighing, she dropped her arms to her sides and smiled. "I swear Oliver. This Vice President of Acquisitions thing at Stellmoor International is just a cover up. At night she goes out and steals Dalmatians!" Oliver laughed again and this time she joined in, shaking her head. "Remind me again why I agreed to be your Executive Assistant instead of keeping my job in my cozy little cubical in the IT department."

"Because I need you and you're my best friend," he said simply.

She shook her head once more. "Right."

He shoved his papers to the side, deciding that they could wait until tomorrow. "So are you heading home now?"

"No. Stefan is taking me out to dinner."

The slight blush in her cheeks didn't go unnoticed by Oliver and he found himself smiling. She'd been with Stefan for about two months now and she was happy. As long as it remained that way, he had no problem with the young head of the IT department. "Have fun, but remember that we have an early meeting tomorrow," he teased. He added a wink for good measure.

He watched her bright pink lips form an 'O' and her clear blue eyes narrow as she snatched the day's newspaper off of the desk and walked around to swat him with it. He held his hands up to shield his face, laughing as she swatted him lightly on the shoulder, head, and arm. She aimed for his head once more, but he caught her arm in mid air. "Hitting your boss with a newspaper? What sort of behavior is that Miss Smoak?"

She pursed her lips to hide her smile and dropped her arm. "Not very professional behavior Mr. Queen, but once in a while everybody needs a good swat with a newspaper."

Oliver smiled. "Luckily, your boss is a nice guy and he forgives you."

"Really? I'm thrilled," she retorted flatly.

"Seriously, the third person thing is really annoying," a deep voice said from the door. They turned to find Diggle coming towards them. "Ready to go?"

"Yes." Oliver stood in one fluid motion, not noticing how close Felicity stood. She stepped back to try and avoid his solid chest, but lost her balance. Instinctively, Oliver grabbed her waist to hold her steady, but the quick motion sent her crashing into his solid chest anyway. "Sorry. You okay?"

She nodded against his chest. "You can let go now."

"Sorry," he repeated, clearing his throat.

She stepped back, pushing up her glasses and giggled. "Um… Oliver? I kind of left a mark," she said pointing to the bright pink lip print on his white dress shirt.

Diggle chuckled and Oliver looked down. He smiled slightly, "It's fine. It'll come off." He turned to retrieve the suit jacket from where it hung on the back of his chair and put it on. "Felicity's not coming by the way. She has more important things to do than sit with us and eat burgers."

"Really?"

Felicity shot Oliver a fake little glare, before turning towards Diggle. "I have a date with Stefan."

"Have fun."

"Thanks Digg," she said smiling.

"Why does he get a 'thank you' when he says it? I said the same thing."

Felicity didn't respond. She simply glared at him once more before turning on her heel and walking out. "Say 'hi' to Carly for me," she called over her shoulder as she headed to her desk and picked up her bag and coat.

"Will do," Diggle called back.

Oliver watched as she headed for the elevator. "Don't forget. Dinner at my house tomorrow and the gala on Friday," he called after her just as the doors of the elevator slid open.

"I'll be there."

* * *

When he stepped out of the elevator the following morning he saw her standing in front of his desk, placing a stack of papers neatly in the corner. She wore her hair down, straightened. Her dress was red and she wore a fitted white jacket over it. Her back was towards him and smiling, he approached her as quietly as he could. When he was only a few inches away, staring at the back of her blond head, he stopped. "Hey," he said softly.

She jumped at the sound of his voice, just as he had known she would. He chuckled, fondly remembering how he had scared her almost every weekend when they had met up for coffee during their college days. She turned, brows drawn together, finger ready to prod his chest with every emphasized word of the oncoming rant.

"Oliver Jonas Queen! How many times do I have to tell you _not _to do that! It's not funny. When I'm focused on something you can't just sneak up on me like that. What? Are you just going to keep doing that until we both grow old? You know, my heart won't always be this resilient and one day you might just give me a heart attack! Is that what you want? Do you want to kill me?"

He shook his head bemused, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Good. Now grab the necessary documents and put them in the conference room," she said pointing at the adjoining room. "Cruella de Vil hasn't arrived yet, but she'll be here soon enough to glare at us menacingly and steal our Dalmatians." Felicity smiled at her own joke and Oliver chuckled.

"Sorry. Won't happen again," he said. They both knew he was lying. He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek in apology, as he always did whenever he purposefully sacred her, and noticed, with some apprehension, that she smelled different. Her usual floral scent was there, but there was also something else there. It was faint, but it was definitely musky—a man's cologne or aftershave. Oliver placed a soft kiss on her cheek and moved around his desk quickly to busy himself with the documents needed for the meeting. "How was your date?"

"Good," Felicity responded happily. "How was Big Belly Burger?"

"Good, as usual."

When he looked up, papers in hand, Felicity was looking intently at the screen of her tablet. She bit her lip in concentration—something she always did. He noticed that she had zipped up her jacket all the way and that its collar was high. For some reason, he didn't want to think about why she smelled different, or why she had chosen that particular jacket, but he couldn't help it. A flash of someone's lips on her neck passed through his mind and he set his jaw. Shaking his head to banish those thoughts, he entered the conference room and set down the documents on the table.

He distinctly heard Felicity's heals as she left his office, but he didn't allow his thoughts to wander to her again. When she returned, he was rereading some of the information on Stellmoor International. She set down a cup of coffee in front of him and took her seat beside him. He thanked her.

This meeting regarded the possibility of going into business together, but unfortunately all of the company's leading officials were evidently busy and, as a result, they were sending Isabel Rochev to represent them. They had met once before and Oliver, along with Felicity, had concluded that he didn't like the woman, but there was no denying the success of the company she represented, so they had decided to continue negotiations.

Moments later, the heads of the departments at Queen Consolidated began filing into the room. Oliver noticed Felicity's bright smile when Stefan walked in. He was a year or two older than Felicity, with a full head of black hair and rare grey eyes. He wasn't as tall as Oliver, but he was a few inches taller than his girlfriend. Oliver purposefully looked away when Stefan smiled at her, his eyes lingering on the fitted jacket with the high collar. Isabel Rochev made her entrance just as the head of Human Resources took his seat. She looked gravely serious, but then again that was her regular expression. With a small smile, he sent Felicity a wink before standing and welcoming Isabel to the company once more. When he sat down again he noticed Felicity's eyes were trained on the screen of her tablet and she bit her lip to keep from laughing.

In the beginning he paid attention. It was an important meeting and, as it turned out, Stellmoor International was an interesting company. Half way through however, a faint purple marking on Felicity's neck caught his eye. The collar of her jacket had bent down and he could now see the hicky that Felicity had tried to cover with make up. He felt a flash of anger coarse through him at the sight, knowing that it was perhaps not the only place her boyfriend had left his mark. Some part of his mind told him that he had no reason to be angry. But the other part of his mind argued that it was natural. He'd always been protective of her. From the moment he'd met her, he'd wanted to protect her.

The more he stared at her marked skin, the more the anger grew, so eventually, he reached over and readjusted the collar of her jacket. When she turned towards him to mouth a 'thank you,' there was a faint blush in her cheeks and he forced a small smile.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Everything and everyone seemed to move around him far too fast to see clearly—to focus on. There was one thing amidst it all that stood still. His sole focus point was his best friend, staring intently at her computer and occasionally pushing up her glasses. This is what his college years had looked like—a blur with a blond, talkative focal point.

He spent the day discreetly staring at her through the glass that separated them, trying to understand what it was that he was so upset about. He was sure that Felicity and Stefan had slept together before last night, and yet now it bothered him slightly. His excuse earlier had been that he had always been protective of her and yet, he knew that was void. He hadn't had any problem with Stefan until now.

"I heard Laurel's back," Felicity said smiling widely as she entered the office.

Oliver ran a hand over his face, in an attempt to shake whatever it was that was bothering him. "How did you know?" As soon as the words had left his mouth, he knew that it had been a stupid question.

"Tommy," they said simultaneously. Oliver smiled, shaking his head. He was thrilled of course that his best friends got along, but sometimes he thought that they teamed up to work against him.

_Felicity, Tommy, and Thea had once all invited him to dinner. He had arrived only to find out that none of them were actually joining him, they had left him instead with a blind date for company, knowing that he would not have agreed otherwise. It was not the worst blind date as far as blind dates went, but he hadn't been too happy about being deceived._

"Please don't tell me that you, Tommy, and Thea have got this great 'get Oliver together with Laurel' scheme."

Felicity laughed. "No promises Mr. Queen."

Oliver groaned.

"No, but in all seriousness…are you happy, excited, nervous?"

He looked down at the city below. "All three I guess. I just hope she wants to give us another try and that I don't screw things up this time."

"You're not that guy anymore. You're not the drunk playboy anymore. You won't screw it up Oliver."

He nodded, hoping that she was right. He'd wanted this for so long. He'd waited years and now he finally had a chance to make it better. He finally had the chance to be with the beautiful brunette who'd stolen his heart years ago. Oliver had had girlfriends after her, but each failed relationship just made him miss Laurel more. He'd learned that one does not see the value of something until they no longer have it—he'd learned it the hard way.

"I'm ready to call it a day. How about you?" Oliver asked, stacking the papers off of his desk and shutting down his computer.

"Do you have to ask?" She turned on her heel and made her way to her desk to clean up.

Oliver followed her. "Are you coming with me, or did you bring your car?"

"No. I drove in with Stefan today, so I'm hitching a ride with you."

Oliver's eyes darted to the fitted jacket again. A small pang of possessive anger shot through him for the briefest of moments before he caught sight of her radiant smile. He shot her a genuine smile in return and reminded himself that Stefan made her happy; there was no reason for him to be angry or overprotective.

* * *

On the drive over, she talked excitedly about some new software that had recently come out. Oliver did not understand a word of it, but he still listened. Nodding, smiling, and raising his eyebrows in surprise whenever she mentioned some feature that she thought was ridiculously cool. She then went on to tell him about the reviews she'd read and how she was planning to buy it for her personal computers at home.

Felicity had just finished telling him about all the things she planned to do with the new software system when they arrived at his house. As they stepped inside, they saw Moira descending the stairs. She was on the phone and she waved at them before sending them an apologetic smile and pointing at the phone. They walked into the living room, knowing that it was slightly early and that dinner would not be ready yet.

He chuckled as Felicity let herself fall heavily onto the couch. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and draped it over the arm of the couch before proceeding to roll up the sleeves of his shirt. "You know, Thea will be upset to know that you've been here a whole three minutes without seeing her."

"Uh oh." Felicity stood up rapidly, losing her balance and falling back onto the couch behind her. Muttering something that sounded suspiciously like: "these damned heels are out to get me. _Shoes?_ More like death traps," she quickly slid her feet out of the offending beige pumps and made her way to the stairs. "If Thea asks, we _just _got here," she called over her shoulder as she made her way upstairs.

He didn't see Felicity again until they sat down at the table. He hadn't expected to see her again. Thea had been very quick to become fond of his IT genius best friend and she always stole Felicity away when he brought her to the house. Sometimes he would get annoyed. After all, Felicity was _his _best friend, and he had brought her over so that the two of them could hang out.

_After Thea had stolen her from him for about the fifth time he brought her over, Oliver had had enough. The next time he had brought Felicity over, he mentioned it to no one but Raisa and took her straight to his room. They had spent the entire afternoon watching movies, playing video games, and talking. Thea had entered the room just as the sun was setting, claiming that she had misplaced her cellphone. She had stopped mid-sentence when she spotted Felicity. She had then stomped over to Oliver and proceeded to scold him for not telling her that Felicity was here—of course she had done it in a very loud voice. She'd told him that he needed to learn to share and that Felicity was her friend as well. When she had finally finished ranting, she took Felicity by the arm and dragged her out of the room. Oliver didn't see her again until she left hours later. Since then they had tried it once more. That time, it had worked, but Raisa accidentally asked Oliver how he and Felicity had liked the pancakes she had made for them the previous day. Thea had been in the room when Raisa had asked and all hell broke loose. She'd proceeded to scold Oliver severely and then she had called Felicity and scolded her as well. They had both learned their lesson. Since then they hadn't tried to avoid the inquisitive Speedy._

"It's been a while Felicity. It's nice to see you again," Robert said as he sat down at the head of the dinner table.

Oliver smiled. No one could resist Felicity's natural charm. The entire family loved Felicity and Raisa had even, on various occasions, hinted at the fact that she had always wanted to see Oliver end up with a girl like Felicity. Whenever Raisa said such things, Oliver would laugh and remind her to refrain from saying those things around Felicity.

"It has Mr. Qu—" Felicity stopped as Robert raised his eyebrows in mock exasperation. "Robert. How have you been?"

Robert smiled and reached for the mashed potatoes. "I've been well thank you. My computers have been doing well too. All thanks to you."

Oliver let out a soft chuckle as Felicity visibly cringed at the last part. "You haven't updated them since the last time I've been here, have you?" Felicity asked apprehensively.

Oliver's father shrugged. "No. I suppose not, but they run just fine."

Felicity sighed. "I'll be over this weekend to update them Mr. Qu—Robert."

Robert sent her a small smile. "If you think it's necessary."

Oliver could see that Felicity wanted to explain to him just how necessary it was, but she bit her lip and cut her chicken into smaller pieces.

"Felicity, are you cold dear?" Moira asked suddenly, eying the white jacket. Felicity, mouth now full, shook her head violently, her cheeks slowly turning crimson.

Thea jumped to her rescue before Oliver could. "So Ollie, I heard Laurel's back in town….She's supposed to be at the charity gala this Friday."

"Is that right?" Moira asked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Oliver saw Felicity give Thea a grateful look. "Yes. I heard. Tommy picked her up yesterday," Oliver said casually.

"Are you going to ask her out?" Thea asked, leaning over her plate and staring at him intently. There was a glint in her eye and Oliver was now seriously suspecting that a scheme was in the works. He mentally cursed himself for leaving his little sister alone with Felicity.

Oliver cleared his throat and took a sip of water. "She hasn't even been here 48 hours Speedy."

Before Thea could say any more, Felicity saved him. "What's new with you Mrs. Qu—Moira?"

The subject was dropped and Moira spent the rest of the dinner telling Felicity about a charity that she wanted to start.

* * *

He was lying in his bed in his sweatpants and a white t-shirt, listening to music when there was a soft knock at his door. "Come in."

The door opened slowly and Felicity stepped in, closing the door behind her softly. "Hey."

Oliver sat up, pulling the headphones out of his ears. "Hey. Thea finally let you out of her sight huh?"

"Never." She laughed lightly. "I promised to come back on Saturday _and _Sunday though. I _also _reminded her that we both have to wake up early tomorrow." Oliver glanced at the clock: 11:00 PM. "I'm going to call a cab. I just wanted to say 'goodbye.' Please tell your parents that dinner was great."

Oliver swung his legs over to the side of the bed and stood. "You're not calling a cab. I'll drive you home."

Felicity shook her head. "Oliver it's way too late. Stay. Sleep. I'll call a cab and be home in no time."

"Unless you accept my offer to stay in one of the guest rooms tonight, I am driving you home," he said sternly. He knew she wouldn't accept the offer, so he moved into his walk-in closet throwing on a hoodie and grabbing the nearest pair of sneakers.

"I didn't even answer," Felicity said when he reemerged from the closet.

"You didn't have to," Oliver said grabbing his car keys and leading her out of his room.

"Wait. I have to say 'goodbye' to Speedy because otherwise we'll never hear the end of this. Remember the last time when I thought she'd fallen asleep and left? She literally made me feel bad about it for two weeks!"

"I'll wait for you downstairs," Oliver said with an amused grin.

* * *

**A/N: There you have it! Let me know what you think! :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here it is...chapter 2 :) Thank you all so much for the lovely comments. I'm really glad that you guys are enjoying the story so far. This chapter is slightly shorter, but I hope you like it all the same.  
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* * *

A shot glass entered his line of vision and he didn't hesitate. He quickly plucked it from the light pink fingernails that encircled it and let the burning liquid slide down his throat. "Thanks."

"Oliver, calm down. I know it's been long since you've seen her, but everything will work out. You'll see," Felicity said, smiling reassuringly at him. Tonight she'd opted to wear a one-shouldered, sky-blue, floor length, dress that flowed beautifully when she moved. Her blond hair, left in its natural curly state, was draped over her shoulder and she'd opted for contacts.

His eyes darted around the room for what seemed like the hundredth time. The suspense was killing him. Where was she? He just needed to see her, and then he'd calm down. Another shot glass entered his line of vision and he poured it down his throat hastily. He smiled at her gratefully and she rolled her eyes.

"Just so you know, I don't condone this. Just this once I'm aiding you in the consumption of toxins. That's what alcohol is to your body; a liquid full of toxins. It's funny isn't it? You used to drink all of the time and I used to scold you all of the time. Finally one day you decided to get your shit together and listen to your genius friend and now that very same genius friend is _handing _you shot glasses." She handed him another. "That's the last one for now. You can't be wasted when she shows up—not that three shots will do it. Heck it will take a lot more than three shots to get you wasted. All those years…You probably built up your alcohol resistance level to an impressively high rate. Again, not that I condone that sort of behavior. Just saying that you must ha—"

"Felicity." She nodded. Pressing her lips together and counting down on three fingers. Oliver shook his head in amusement. "Your babbling was making me even more nervous."

"Yep. Got it. Shutting up….Now..." Felicity turned away from him for a moment before turning back. "You'll be fine. She'll run straight into your arms again—you know, figuratively. Although, she might literally do it since she hasn't seen you yet, so you know…hug… Right. Second chance here you come. Everything will be fi—"

"Felicity!"

She shot him an apologetic look, holding up a finger before turning to the bartender and requesting a shot. She drowned it quickly and then turned back to him. "Sorry. Now I'm nervous _for _you. I just know how long you've wanted this…" He smiled. She was always thinking of others. His eyes tore away from Felicity's and he scanned the room again.

Suddenly, everything stopped and the only thing he could see was Laurel Lance. She was just as beautiful as she'd been when he'd cheated on her and broken her heart in high school. She stood at the far end of the room, laughing and talking with a friend of her father. Tommy stood dutifully beside her, smiling the smile that Oliver knew all too well was fake. Oliver guessed that Tommy had probably realized how long it would take them to actually reach him. Most people at the event knew Laurel, or her family, and she would have to stop and make small talk with the majority of them. She had, after all, just returned from Central City.

Oliver didn't mind. He stood perfectly still, taking in everything that was Laurel. She wore a floor-length, strapless, beige dress. Her hair was pinned up neatly, letting a few curls fall to delicately frame her face. She looked as graceful and beautiful as ever. His heartbeat sped up at the sight of her laughing and talking. He'd planned to give her space, let her settle in, maybe even let a few months pass, before he asked her out again. Now that he'd seen her, his plan flew out the window and he wondered just how long he could contain himself.

A nudge snapped him out of his daze and he met Felicity's blue eyes once more. "Go already. It will take her an eternity to get here and by that time, I'll be totally wasted." She held up an empty shot glass and he looked back at the counter top of the bar where another four empty shot glasses had suddenly appeared. "_Again_, not that I condone that." Oliver chuckled.

"There she is," Stefan said as he slid his hands around Felicity's waist from behind.

"Hey," she said leaning into his embrace.

"Hey," he said, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Mr. Queen," he said politely.

"Mr. Warren," Oliver replied a bit stiffly. His expression had hardened slightly, but when he caught sight of the small smile plastered on Felicity's face, he couldn't help but smile as well. "If you'll excuse me, I have to say 'hello' to an old friend."

"Finally!" He heard Felicity say as he began to weave his way through the crowd.

He was stopped twice on his way to see her. Once by an old friend of his mothers and once by his father who wanted to introduce him to the daughter of some CEO of some prominent company. Truth be told, he didn't even really register the girl's name. All he saw was Laurel. He was still stuck in a pointless conversation with the girl whose name he did not remember when Felicity, Thea, and Stefan appeared at his side.

"Terribly sorry," Thea began, "but we need to borrow him for a moment. It's important."

The girl hadn't even finished her reply before Thea grabbed his arm and pulled him forcefully with her towards Laurel. Felicity and Stefan followed and he heard Felicity mutter something about him not being considerate of her nerves. Felicity stepped around him and was suddenly leading the charge. "Laurel!" She exclaimed excitedly.

Tommy and Laurel turned to them and Tommy's fake smile was suddenly replaced by a large grin. Oliver saw him wink at Felicity and he hoped against all hope that the extent of their scheme was to just get him and Laurel to talk. "You may not remember me all that well. I'm—"

"Felicity Smoak," Laurel filled in with a small smile. "Oliver's best friend." Tommy let out an indignant sound and Laurel rolled her eyes. "One of them anyway. He talks about you all the time, so of course I remember you. It's nice to see you again."

"Yep. Nice to see you too. Welcome back." Felicity turned, shot Oliver a smile and then stepped aside.

"We brought you Ollie," Thea said. "Welcome back."

"Oh well, look at that Thea needs a dance…let's go." Tommy and Thea disappeared into the crowd, smiling triumphantly. When he looked to the side he saw that Felicity and Stefan had disappeared as well.

Shaking his head in amusement he turned to Laurel. "Hi."

"Hi."

"Would you like to dance?" Oliver asked, his nerves returning.

"Sure."

He led her onto the dance floor and took one of her hands in his. He placed the other hand on her waist and they began to sway to the music. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tommy and Thea dancing and openly staring at them. They talked quietly, filling in the blanks for one another. It was easier than he had expected and he found himself relaxing. It was as if nothing had changed. She was beautiful and easy to talk to and he found himself drawn to her just as he had been years ago.

_High school had been full of meaningless flings and mediocre grades. Girls just seemed to fall into his lap and he had enjoyed every moment of it. Classes didn't matter_—_they were just rooms in which boys and girls gathered. Classes simply allowed him the opportunity to flirt. Laurel had been his friend throughout high school, much like Felicity would later become during his college years. Laurel was there to tell him to do his homework and remind him that he needed to have decent grades in order to keep his father relatively happy. _

_If you asked him how they had gotten together he couldn't tell you. Even now he had no real idea of how it had happened. They had gone to Tommy's birthday party in 11__th__ grade. It had been crazy: flashing lights, pounding music, and unlimited alcohol. He and Laurel had had a little too much. He had no recollection of the rest of the night. He had woken up the next morning in bed beside his brunette friend. _

_They remained together after that. At first he had done it out of guilt. Laurel wasn't just any girl. She was his friend. Slowly however, he found himself falling for her and he stayed with her because he wanted to. Things progressed and got serious. Eventually, he got cold feet. He hadn't been a one-girl type of guy back then. He cheated on her with various girls until she found him with one of her friends at a party._

This time things would be different. They danced to song after song completely immersed in each other. He found himself thinking that maybe Felicity was right; everything was going to be fine. Felicity. He scanned the room and found her wrapped in Stefan's arms on the dance floor.

"She's prettier than I remember," Laurel said absently.

"She was always pretty," Oliver replied automatically. Realizing what he said, he snapped his head back to look at her. "She—um…" He didn't want Laurel to take it the wrong way.

Laurel laughed lightly. "Don't worry about it Ollie. I know she's just a friend."

Oliver nodded, smiling.

* * *

He came out of his room the next afternoon in a very good mood.

"Ollie," Thea called when he was halfway down the stairs.

"Yeah?"

"Are you coming swimming with us?"

"What?" He turned to his sister who was already clad in her favorite blue bikini; towel in hand and sunglasses nestled in her hair.

"When Felicity's done updating dad's computers we're going swimming in the pool," Thea explained.

Oliver raised his eyebrows. "Does _she_ know that?"

Thea titled her head to the side innocently. "Well… no… not yet, but she will."

Oliver chuckled. "If she agrees to go swimming. I'll swim with you guys."

"Great!" Thea exclaimed excitedly. "Then we can talk about you and Laurel."

Oliver shook his head, making his way down the rest of the stairs.

"You really do have to update the computers when the notice pops up Mr. Queen," Felicity was saying. Her voice sounded like almost like a whine.

"But they run just fine Felicity," Robert replied.

"Yes. But the updates are there for a reason…It hurts me in my soul when I see neglected software. In my soul."

Robert laughed loudly.

Oliver poked his head around the corner and found Felicity sitting at the computers typing away furiously and shaking her head in exasperation. Robert sat beside her, reading a newspaper, still laughing at her earlier comment.

Oliver snuck up behind her, putting his finger to his lips when his father spotted him. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and she jumped at the touch. Oliver laughed loudly and was joined by his father. "_Oliver!_" She turned in her chair with too much momentum and ended up facing the computers. She swung the chair around again and stopped herself by placing her hands on his hips. "Once a week Oliver…once a week please. Eventual heart attack remember?" She let out a huff of air and looked up at him. "I'm in the zone Oliver. IT genius remember? Don't _do _that!"

Thea bounded into the room excitedly, holding out a bright pink bikini. "We're going swimming Licity," she informed her.

Robert folded his newspaper, looking amused. "You're not even asking?"

"Nope," Thea said happily. "Lets go. You don't need to watch the progress of the update. Change, finish it up, and then we'll go swimming."

Felicity shot him a pleading look, but he simply shrugged, knowing that arguing with Thea wouldn't work. She sighed in defeat and reluctantly followed Thea out of the room.

"Go put on your swim trunks Ollie," Thea called back.

* * *

"Ollie," Thea whined. Thea had managed to get Felicity to change into the bikini, but she could not convince the blond to get into the pool. Oliver shrugged and took of his shirt.

"You're really not going to swim Felicity?"

Felicity shook her head defiantly, her ponytail swaying from side to side. Oliver reached over and took her tablet from her, setting it down on one of the beach chairs. He tried to keep from smiling when her breath hitched slightly at the sight of his defined bare chest.

"Please," Thea whined from her spot in the pool.

Groaning, Felicity removed the shorts and shirt that Thea had lent her and set them beside the tablet. Oliver couldn't help but stare. He'd seen her in a bikini before, but it had been a very long time and now she looked absolutely stunning. She moved to the edge of the pool and stared down at the water apprehensively.

Thea cleared her throat and Oliver quickly averted his gaze.

"Don't rush me Thea," Felicity protested, thinking that Thea had cleared her throat in order to get her to jump in.

Thea shot him a knowing look, smiling slightly at having caught him staring.

Felicity hesitantly dipped her toe into the water, oblivious to the exchange between him and Thea, and shook her head. "Nope." She took a few steps back from the edge of the pool. "I'll just talk to you from here."

"That's no fun!" Thea exclaimed. "Ollie," she whined again.

Oliver quickly banded an arm around her waist from behind and lifted her up. She shrieked in protest swinging her legs. "Put. Me. Down. _Oliver!_"

He jumped into the water without a second thought, taking a shrieking Felicity with him.

Felicity sucked in a large gulp of air when they came up. "Oliver!" He could see that she wanted to sound angry, but her smile gave her away. He chuckled.

Thea cleared her throat again and Oliver suddenly realized that he was still holding Felicity against him. He instantly let go of her and swam to the other end of the pool.

"So," Thea began. "Everything went well with Laurel did it?" There was a sly smile on her face and a glint in her eye. Oliver gave her a hard look.

"Yes. We're going to dinner on Monday."

"I told you everything would be fine Oliver. See? There was no reason to be nervous," Felicity said, sitting down on the steps in the pool.

"Says the woman who had more shots than I did because she was nervous _for _me," he said from the other end of the pool.

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him. "Regardless, I _did _tell you that everything would be fine."

"So is it a date Ollie?" Thea asked with a wide grin. "Or did you change your mind?"

Oliver shot her a stern look. "It's just dinner, but I plan to ask her out on a date."

"Oh..okay," Thea's wide grin remained in place and Oliver had a sinking feeling that Thea was going to corner him into a conversation about his best friend later on. "So Felicity, do you want to swim again when you come over tomorrow?"

Now Oliver was glaring at his sister. Felicity shrugged while Oliver swam over to Thea and splashed her.

* * *

"Oliver." Oliver turned to face the door from where the soft whisper had come. The door was ajar and Felicity's head was sticking into his room. She looked worried. "Oliver."

"Come in," he said confused.

She slid in quickly, shutting the door behind her. His eyebrows rose up to his hairline when he caught sight of her. She was wearing a short, body-con, black dress. It accentuated every curve. It was definitely one of Thea's dresses; Felicity never wore dresses that were _that_ short. She also wore sky-high black heels.

"Oliver. Save me," she whispered, glancing back nervously at the door. "Thea wants me to go clubbing with her. She used the puppy dog eyes Oliver! That's why I'm in _this_." She gestured at herself. "_Please _get me out of this!"

Oliver looked at her, amused. He stood from his desk chair and went to stand only a few inches away from her. "Well, if you really want me to…," he joked, placing his hand on her hip.

"_That's not what I meant!_" She stepped back, pressing her back against the door in an attempt to regain some personal space.

He chuckled. "What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know Oliver! I'm a grown woman hiding in your room because an eighteen-year-old girl wants to take me clubbing and I can't say 'no' to her!" There was a knock on the door and Felicity froze. 'Help,' she mouthed.

Oliver rolled his eyes, opened the door, and poked his head out to face his irritated sister. "Hand her over Ollie. My friends are here and ready to go."

"What are you talking about?" Oliver asked innocently.

"Ollie. I know she's in there."

"Nope. Felicity's not in here."

Thea crossed her arms. "We both know that you're lying Ollie."

Oliver sighed. "Yeah okay, she's here, but she doesn't feel so good. I was going to take her home."

"Fine," Thea said. "I'm leaving…take her home." Thea winked at him before turning on her heel and leaving.

Oliver shut the door, turning to face Felicity. She launched himself into his arms. "I owe you one."

"Yes you do. Movie marathon?"

"You got it! Let me just get out of these clothes."

"I can help with that," he teased.

She pointedly glared at him before leaving the room. She returned in her jeans and shirt and they spent the rest of the night watching their favorite movies. They fell asleep hours later on the couch; Felicity's head resting on his chest and his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

* * *

**A/N: So Thea definitely sees something... :P I hope you liked it! As always, tell me what you think. I love reading your comments :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter 3! Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing this fanfic! :D I really hope you guys like this one!  
**

**Just a quick note. I know next to nothing about computer firewalls and whatnot, so yeah... **

* * *

Felicity listened to her heels click rhythmically against the tiled floor as she made her way back to the top floor of the building. She was more than ready to go home and snuggle into her bed. She'd spent half of her day with Oliver in yet another meeting. Thankfully, Cruella de Vil hadn't been there today. Felicity was getting really tired of seeing Isabel Rochev. She was even getting tired of hearing the woman's name. She seriously hoped that the board would come to a decision soon because then she would be free of the constant Stellmoor International meetings.

The other half of her day had been spent in the IT department with her boyfriend. Unfortunately, there hadn't been time for him to be her _boyfriend. _They had been investigating a slight security breach. Someone had managed to get through two levels of their firewall. Two levels had gotten the hacker nowhere, but it was still a breach. The hacker had been very thorough in cloaking his/her steps and even with her help, Stefan hadn't been able to identify the hacker.

On top of it all, Thea had kept her out late last night. Oliver had been able to save her on Saturday night, but Oliver hadn't been there yesterday, so she had been forced to comply with the girl's wishes. She had let Thea drag her to the Verdant. "Those damned puppy-dog eyes," Felicity muttered as she stepped into the elevator.

She was halfway to her desk when she spotted the tall brunette talking to Oliver. Laurel. She froze. She didn't want to interrupt them, but the entire top floor was composed of glass walls. She darted for her desk, hoping to take her things and leave unnoticed. She almost made it. Almost.

"What? No 'goodbye'?" Oliver asked just as the elevator doors slid open. When she turned to face him, apologetic smile in place, she found that he stood only a few feet from her. One hand was in his pocket and the other held her cellphone. "I'm guessing you would miss this," he shook the phone.

Laurel stood beside him, smiling her usual smile. For some reason, Felicity had never felt like Laurel had ever graced her with a genuine smile. Her usual smile just came off as fake in Felicity's eyes and it had always bothered her slightly. She would never say anything however. She wouldn't want to question the mighty Laurel. Yet another thing that had always bothered her; she felt as if Laurel felt that she was better than her. Of course she knew that it was all in her head because Laurel—on the few occasions that they had interacted—had never been anything but nice. Felicity pushed those resentful thoughts aside. She didn't really know Laurel like Oliver, Tommy, and Thea did, so she had no right to judge her. Besides, she was Oliver's great love and she made her friend happy. Really, that was all that mattered.

"Sorry. I just didn't want to disturb you." She took the phone from Oliver's hand and gave him a reassuring smile. 'Good luck,' she mouthed.

The elevator doors opened and she turned to find Stefan. "Good afternoon," he said stepping out and coming to stand beside her.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Warren," Oliver replied. Felicity sent a questioning look in Oliver's direction. His expression had suddenly changed with the appearance of her boyfriend. He looked tense, almost angry. But Oliver was too busy practically glaring at Stefan to notice her questioning look.

"Good afternoon," Laurel said pleasantly.

"Right. Stefan, this is Laurel Lance. Laurel, this is Stefan Warren," Felicity said.

Stefan shook Laurel's hand and turned back to her. "Ready to go?"

"Yes," she said, tearing her eyes away from Oliver.

"Where are you going?"

Felicity's eyebrows drew together in confusion. Oliver knew better than to ask that sort of question in front of people. She had no problem with him asking her that when they were alone, but it just came off as too protective when he asked in front of people. "Home," she replied, plastering a smile on her face.

Stefan pressed the elevator button, nodded in Oliver's direction, and placed a hand on the small of her back, leading her into the elevator. "You don't by any chance know what I've done to offend our CEO, do you?" Stefan asked once the elevator was moving.

"I have no idea. I was hoping you could tell me," She replied honestly.

He let out a humorless chuckle, allowing her to step out of the elevator first. "I'm not the best friend, remember? That's you."

She stopped suddenly in the middle of the deserted parking lot. His chest collided with her back and he placed his hands on her waist to keep her from losing her balance as a result of the impact. She turned in his arms, eyes narrowed, head tilted in question. "What?"

"You're his best friend."

Felicity let out a breath of exasperation. "What did you mean by that?"

"Nothing," Stefan said, smiling in reassurance. But she knew him and she could tell that he was lying.

"Stefan," she said in a warning tone.

He sighed, his grey eyes trained on the ceiling of the parking complex. "I don't recall doing anything to offend him, so I'm assuming it has to do with you."  
"Me?" If she thought about it, it made sense, and yet, it didn't make sense.

Stefan smiled at her, shaking his head and crashing his lips against hers. A soft hum of approval escaped her and Stefan deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue along the seam of her lips. She allowed him entrance, desire and need shooting through her. He pulled her flush against him, but she still felt like she wasn't close enough. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she threaded her fingers through his hair as their tongues danced. When air became a necessity, they parted, breathing heavily. His pupils were dilated and she supposed hers were as well. "How about we finish this at my place?" she breathed.

He kissed her soundly on the forehead before taking her hand and leading her to his car.

* * *

"You never clarified what you meant earlier when you said that Oliver's attitude towards you probably had to with me," Felicity said as she watched the city race by from the passenger window. She'd all but forgotten about the conversation when Stefan had kissed her earlier and she was almost positive that he had kissed her for that exact reason.

Stefan sighed heavily, indicating that he'd hoped not to backtrack to the conversation. "There was nothing to clarify. It's the only logical explanation that I can come up with. I didn't do anything, so it probably has to do with you."

"But you're leaving something out." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

He was silent for a moment, both hands on the wheel, eyes on the road. "All I know is: Oliver Queen didn't have a problem with me until you showed up to work in that fitted white jacket—until I left evidence that we'd slept together."

"That's ridiculous Stefan," she said immediately. She couldn't even believe that Stefan had just said that. Oliver liked Stefan, whatever had changed, Felicity was sure it had nothing to do with _her_. Heck, maybe it didn't have anything to do with either of them. Maybe something was just going on with him and he was taking it out on Stefan…by... glaring at him? Felicity shook her head. "That's ridiculous Stefan," she repeated.

"Really? Because that's when our CEO started being stiff and throwing me the occasional glare," Stefan's tone was humorless—a sign that there was no changing his mind on the matter.

Felicity dropped it. When they arrived to her house, the conversation was discarded in the car and they lost themselves in lips and moans.

* * *

They were seated at one of the best restaurants in Starling, but it was all the same to Oliver. He wasn't interested in the soft music, expensive food, or vintage wines. He was interested in Laurel.

She was telling him about her job as a lawyer—about the cases she'd worked on recently and about how she was going to work in the DA's office. Oliver could tell that Laurel was passionate about her job. Her eyes would light up when she would tell him about how they had won the case, and she'd glower at the table when she would tell him about how they had lost the case. He liked seeing her like this. It made him realize how much he'd missed her.

By the time they had gotten to dessert, the conversation had diverted back to him. "So, Felicity is your secretary?"

Oliver cringed at the use of the word 'secretary,' knowing that if Felicity had been here to hear that, she would have lost it and gone on an all-out rant about she was qualified for much more than being his assistant. "Executive Assistant," he corrected.

"Didn't she graduate from MIT?" Laurel asked.

Oliver almost laughed. Felicity never let him forget that. "Yes. She's a brilliant IT expert."

"Then shouldn't she be working in the IT department?" Laurel asked before diverting her attention to her ice cream.

"Yes." Oliver sighed. He had always felt slightly bad about that. "I asked her to be my EA after a fiasco with the last one." Laurel raised her eyebrows, encouraging him to continue the story.

"My father's EA retired when he did, so I had to hire a new one. She was young and qualified. At first, everything went well, but Felicity came looking for me one day and found that I wasn't in my office. She did however find my new EA snooping through my desk. Felicity told me about it, but I argued that she had probably been cleaning or something. Anyway, weeks went by and the incident was forgotten, but my EA started being really touchy and a little flirty. I ignored it at first. One day, I stayed late. Felicity was teaching me how to use the new software, so we were down in the IT department. When I'd finally had enough technical talk, we decided to call it a day. I went up with her to get my stuff, so that we could leave. You can imagine my surprise when I found a very naked EA waiting for me in my office chair."

"No way!" Laurel exclaimed, almost choking on the wine. "What did you do?"

"What could I do?" Oliver chuckled, shaking his head. "I was going to say something. To be honest, I have no idea what I was planning to say when Felicity walked right past me into my office. She was livid. I've never seen her like that."

Laurel laughed. "What did she say?"

"You should have seen it! She walked right up to my desk and said. 'Okay Barbie find your clothes, put them on, and report for work at some strip club tomorrow because you're done here!' She was in such shock that she didn't move a muscle. So Felicity continued: 'I'm going to call security in exactly one minute. It takes them exactly one minute to get here and they _will _escort you out clothes, or no clothes.' And while the woman scrambled to put on her clothes, Felicity calmly grabbed my stuff, shut down my computer and walked right out. She handed me my things and headed straight for the elevator. I just followed her, still unable to grasp what had just happened. She called security from the elevator and I never saw the woman again."

Laurel laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Wow. Just…wow. That still doesn't explain how Felicity became your EA though."

Oliver shrugged, taking a sip of his wine. "I just kept asking until she said 'yes.'"

Laurel changed the topic then, telling Oliver about how Sara had come to visit her in Central City just before she had moved. Apparently, the younger Lance was also considering moving back home. Oliver hadn't been close to Sara, but he had remembered that she had been almost the exact opposite. 'Responsibility,' hadn't really been in Sara's vocabulary back then, but according to Laurel, she'd changed. Apparently Sara was now some scientist or researcher of some sort, Oliver wasn't really paying attention. Instead, he was trying to pluck up the courage to ask Laurel to give him another chance.

He overthought it throughout the rest of the dinner, barely catching what Laurel was telling him. He brought her home later, walking her to her apartment door; her things had been delivered yesterday and she had quickly moved in. When they reached her door, she turned to him and thanked him for the wonderful evening. He smiled nervously.

"Anytime." He let out a breath. It was now or never. "Laurel, I know that you just got back, but it's been years…I can wait. I only need to know if eventually…there's a chance that you would like to try _us _again."

Laurel shot him a radiant smile—the kind that made his heart beat just a little faster. "It's been long enough," she said before crashing her lips to his.

Before either of them could really register what was happening, he had her pinned on the bed. They were making up for lost time and some part of Oliver's mind wondered if being with Laurel had ever felt this good. One kiss had brought back every ounce of passion and love that their relationship had once held. This time, he wasn't going to let her go.

* * *

He arrived late the next day. Felicity wasn't at her desk when he stepped out of the elevator and he entered his office slightly dejected. He'd wanted to share his happiness with his best friend. Ever since he'd met her, Felicity had been part of every happy moment of his life and now he needed her to be part of this one too.

**_"_****_I take it your date went well. :D Don't worry, no meetings today, but you see that LARGE pile of paperwork there - That has to be read and signed…TODAY!_**

**_Love, your genius best friend._**

**_P.S. Get started on that paperwork now…NOW Oliver!"_**

He sat down and stared at the pile of paperwork apprehensively. It was a tall stack of paperwork and he was in too much of a good mood. He peeled the yellow sticky note off of his desk and threw it in the garbage bin. He always thought Felicity's notes were adorable, but he didn't particularly like the ones that reminded him how much work he had to do.

He wrenched open the bottom drawer of his desk, ready to hide the stack of papers from view. He laughed when he spotted the yellow note sticking to the bottom of the drawer.

**_"_****_TODAY Oliver! It has to be done TODAY, so GET TO WORK!_**

**_Love, your genius best friend who will love you even more if you DO YOUR WORK."_**

He closed the drawer, grabbed a portion of the paperwork and began to read. 'Uninteresting' was the understatement of the year. The stack of papers consisted of contracts that needed to be renewed. Nothing was new. Every company he read about was a company that Queen Consolidated had been in business with for years. He even recognized one or two of the contracts from when his father had made him work at the QC for a summer.

About two hours had gone by when the sound of clicking heels made him look up. He smiled gratefully at Felicity, who held a coffee cup in her hand. She stopped right in front of his desk and calmly raised the cup of warm liquid to her lips. He shot her a fake glare.

She smiled over the rim of the mug. "Just came by to check on my favorite CEO." She looked down at the smaller pile of paperwork that had been slowly growing beside the larger pile. He could see that she was happy with his progress so far. "Very nice Oliver." He leaned back in his chair, looking up at her, his fake glare still in place. "What?" She asked, taking another sip of the dark liquid.

"I think your favorite CEO deserves a little reward," he said, staring at the mug in her hands.

Felicity set the cup down on the edge of the desk and walked around it to stand before him. He turned his chair to face her. She wore a tight red pencil skirt, with a black blouse. Her hair was neatly tied up in her usual ponytail and her lips were a bright red color to match her skirt. She bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling, but she was failing miserably. She pushed up her glasses before slapping her hand down on the top of his head and ruffling his cropped hair.

"Not what I meant," he grumbled. "I thought you said you'd love me more if I did my work." He gestured at the smaller stack of papers to remind her that he had done work.

She reached over and grabbed the mug, calmly taking another sip. She set the cup down and bent down to place her lips just below his hairline. The warmth from her lips spread throughout his body and he suddenly didn't need the coffee anymore.

"There," she said smiling proudly at the place where she had kissed him. She giggled.

He didn't have to ask. "You left a lip mark on my forehead didn't you?"

"Yep. It looks cute."

He stared at her blankly, trying to keep a straight face, but it didn't last long. Within seconds, he cracked a smile.

She reached over to rub the red lipstick off with her thumb and while she did that, he discretely tried to get a hold of the coffee mug. When she pulled back he brought the mug to his lips, never taking his eyes of hers in order to gloat over his accomplishment. The mug was empty and she laughed when he stared disappointingly at its bottom.

She plucked the cup from his hands. "How was your date? You were late this morning."

"It was really good," he said happily. "We're back together."

"That's great Oliver!" She opened her arms, inviting him for a hug. He was going to stand up to hug her, but she had other ideas. She had already begun bending down to hug him in his chair, so when he tried to stand, they both lost their balance. He fell back in his chair and Felicity fell right on top of him. "Is this what you meant?" She mumbled.

He chuckled as she pushed herself off of him. He placed his hands on her hips to make sure that she was steady.

Someone cleared their throat from the door and Oliver turned to find Stefan standing there. Felicity stepped back so quickly she lost her balance and fell flat on her butt. Oliver stood and pulled her up, acutely aware of the fact that Stefan was glaring at him.

Felicity quickly made her way over to him. "We're going to lunch Oliver. You want us to bring you anything?"

"No," he said, looking at Stefan. He was vaguely aware of the fact that his expression was hard, but he didn't really care.

"Okay. See you later. If you make the second pile bigger, I promise to make you coffee when I get back," she called back at him as they walked towards the elevator.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys like this chapter! Let me know what you think! As always, I love reading your reviews; they keep me writing!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Chapter 4! Thank you so much for all of the lovely comments. I've read them all :D **

**This chapter is another long one. I hope you guys like it! **

* * *

"Stefan?" Again he was lost in thought. Sighing, she tried again, "Stefan?" The whole week she'd been drawing him out of his thoughts, only to have him smile at her and kiss her worries away. He stood perfectly still, with his back to her, staring out the window of her—Oliver's office. His hands were buried in the pockets of his dress pants and the sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up. If she hadn't been worried about him, she would have silently admired how hot he looked. She went to stand behind him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Stefan?"

"Hmm?" He leaned his head to the side, so that his head rested lightly on hers.

"Is something wrong? You've been doing this…staring off into the distance thing this whole week. I mean its kind of sexy, but it also worries me."

He turned to face her, smiling slyly. "Sexy huh?"

She laughed. "Not the point. I'm asking you what's wrong."

He leaned in and she shook her head, placing her index finger against his lips. "Don't you dare kiss me! You've been doing that all week."

"That's because I happen to think my girlfriend is the most beautiful and sexy woman in the world," he mumbled against her finger.

She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. "That's not what I meant and you know it. Every time I asked you that question this week, you've distracted me with your lips."

"Are you complaining?" He placed his hands on her hips, tracing circles into the fabric of her dress with his thumbs.

She removed her finger from his lips and pressed her lips against his. "No. I'm not complaining, but I _am _getting answers."

He pressed his lips against hers once more. "There are no answers to give. Everything is fine. I've just been really stressed with this whole hacker thing. I thought for sure we'd have discovered whom it was by now."

She smiled, placing her hands against his chest. "I'll try again when you're gone next week."

"Why can't you come again?" He asked, pouting.

"Because you'll be gone a whole week and in that time Oliver will probably forget how to turn on the computer, how to open the Internet browser, and how to breathe." Stefan shook his head and chuckled. "No, but really. We're finishing the Stellmoor deal next week."

"So?"

Felicity rolled her eyes, stepping out of his embrace. "Stefan we've talked about this…in fact we've had this discussion every day this week. I can't go. I want to, but the Stellmoor deal is important and—"

"And I need her here," Oliver said, walking smoothly up to them.

Oliver's expression was hard, his ice-blue eyes were steel and when she glanced at Stefan, she saw that his expression mirrored Oliver's. "What the heck is going on?" Felicity asked, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

Stefan looked at her. He blinked once and his expression softened. He smiled and took a step closer to her. "Nothing. I'll see you after work," he cupped her cheek and placed a quick kiss on her forehead before stepping around her and heading for the elevator. "Mr. Queen," he said as he passed Oliver.

"Mr. Warren."

As soon as the elevator doors had closed, Oliver turned and headed towards his office, but Felicity was angry and he wasn't getting away that easy. "Oliver what the heck is your problem? You—you constantly glare at my boyfriend, whom you said you _liked. _You said, and I quote: 'He seems like a good guy Felicity. I think he's good for you.' What the heck happened to that? I know he hasn't done anything to you and I know that _he _doesn't have a problem with _you, _so it's _you _who has the problem with him!"

Oliver pretended to be occupied with the paperwork in front of him. "I don't have a problem with him."

"Then I would appreciate it if you didn't _glare _at him." She slammed her hand down on the table to get him to look up at her. She winced and looked down at her red hand. "Ow. Not the best idea."

He looked at her in amusement for a moment before leaning back in his chair. "Sorry... I'm just stressed and protective of you, so I'm bunching those two things together and taking it out on Stefan whenever I see him." Felicity retained her angry expression. She always forgave him too quickly. Well, not today! He stood, and embraced her, but she kept her arms crossed, not hugging him in return. He laughed, resting his chin on the crown of her head. "I'm really sorry...," he said in a low voice.

Why? Why? _Why? _Why did he have to use that low, breathy voice? It always made her crack and this time was no different. Felicity's anger melted away in seconds and she returned his hug.

"I'll apologize to Stefan right now if you want," he said, pulling back to look at her.

She raised her eyebrows, looking at him skeptically. "Wow… Oliver Queen offering to apologize to someone? Are you feeling well?" She pressed her palm against his forehead to check for a fever.

He rolled his eyes, let go of her and returned to his desk chair. Shaking her head, she turned to walk out of the office. She couldn't wait to tell Stefan that she had been right. Oliver's attitude had had nothing to do with her. It was childish, but she was already practicing her smug smile for when she talked to Stefan later.

"Felicity?"

"Yeah?" She turned to face Oliver.

"He's right. You don't really _need _to be here. Go with him." He was looking at her with a small apologetic smile and she had the urge to hug him. Instead she simply smiled and left the office without a word.

She returned three minutes later with a large mug of steaming coffee. "Thank you," she said softly as she set it down on his desk.

* * *

Oliver all but growled in frustration. He had a meeting right after lunch and he had no idea where the documents for it were. Felicity had insisted that he appoint a temporary EA while she was away, but Oliver had grown to accustomed to his best friend as his EA. He was sure he would have felt uncomfortable with anyone else around him all day. Wrenching open the same drawer for the fourth time, he rummaged through it, knowing all too well that the documents were not in there.

He knew how to access them electronically of course, Felicity had made sure to show him how to do it in case he misplaced the hard copies, but some of those papers needed to be signed by the CEO of Stellmoor International. He needed the hard copies. Sighing in defeat he sat back heavily in his chair. He could print them, but that would take ages. Even if he skipped lunch he wouldn't be able to print all of the documents before the meeting.

"Rough day?"

Oliver smiled, turning to look at his raven-haired best friend. Tommy stood at the doorway of his office, hands shoved in his pockets, looking at him amusedly. "You have no idea."

Tommy chuckled, walking slowly over to him. "Missing your favorite blond?"

Oliver nodded, shooting him a warning look in the process. Tommy, much like Raisa, and more recently his sister, had not made it a secret that he thought Felicity was possibly 'the one' for him. Knowing that he loved Laurel and considering that they were now dating again, Tommy hadn't brought that theory up in a while, but Oliver needed to make sure that he didn't do it again.

It made no sense really. What was the big deal if Tommy insinuated he felt more towards Felicity than friendship? He would just deny it and remind him that he was with Laurel. Still, with the addition of his sister to the loop of: 'she's more than just your friend, isn't she,' Oliver had become increasingly defensive on the subject. Whenever he asked himself exactly why that was, he would argue that it was because he didn't want any of them to bring it up accidentally when either Felicity, or Laurel, were present. He also made the valid argument that he wanted people to think of him and Laurel like they sometimes thought of him and Felicity. Laurel was, after all, the love of his life.

"And where is your favorite blond?" Tommy asked, unfazed by the warning look Oliver had sent his way.

"She's out of town at some tech conference in New York. The heads of the IT departments of the Fortune 500 companies are all invited to attend. Basically, they get a preview of all of the brand new technological equipment that will come out later in the year. That gives them time to pitch the apparent need for these new pieces of metal to their CEO's."

Tommy did a fake little wince. "Don't ever let Felicity hear you referring to cutting edge technology as: 'pieces of metal,'" he said seriously.

Oliver chuckled, "Never."

Tommy sat down in the chair in front of his desk, grinning widely. "So I don't remember Licity being the head of the IT department," he said casually.

Oliver set his jaw, running a hand over his face. "No. She went with Stefan."

"Right," Tommy said, grin widening, "her boyfriend."

Oliver glared at him, "What are you trying to do Tommy?"

"What?" Tommy asked innocently, shrugging his shoulders.

"I thought we went over this. She's just a friend and I'm in love with Laurel. I thought you were supportive of my relationship."

Tommy drew his eyebrows together in confusion and Oliver realized that Tommy hadn't been insinuating anything. He'd simply been trying to get the latest on his blond friend and her boyfriend. Crap.

"I am supportive. Unless…Is there something you need to tell me?" Tommy asked, suddenly serious.

"No." Oliver cleared his throat, knowing that he had messed up. He didn't even know how he'd missed Tommy's true intentions. One mention of Felicity's boyfriend and he'd gone overboard, defending his relationship with Laurel. He didn't understand it, but there was no way that he could explain that to Tommy. Whatever he said now, would just be taken the wrong way. Wrenching open the bottom drawer of his desk, he began to rummage through it. "I really need to find some documents for my next meeting."

"Well that's why I'm here. You weren't picking up your phone so Felicity called me. She said she'd called you a bunch of times to remind you where she put the papers." Tommy stood, walking out of his office and over to Felicity's desk. He opened the middle drawer and returned, a large stack of documents in hand.

Oliver sighed in relief. "Why didn't you just give them to me in the first place?"

Tommy handed them over. He looked at Oliver curiously, as if seeing him for the first time. "I just wanted a moment to gloat about how you couldn't function without Felicity…"

"Well," Oliver said, looking through the papers, "I'd like to argue with you, but I think you're right. It's only day one without her and already I've managed to forget where the important documents were."

"Oliver?"

He looked up at Tommy, who still donned the same confused and slightly suspicious expression. He sighed, "Look Tommy, I thought you were going down the: 'Felicity is the one for you,' road again. My sister's been doing it lately. Every time I walk into my house, she asks me how Felicity's doing with one of those sly smiles. It's just getting on my nerves because I'm in a relationship with Laurel. Felicity is my friend—my best friend. That's all there is to it."

Tommy nodded, smiling again. "Okay. I'll leave you to your work…We'll hang out this weekend.

Oliver nodded, smiling. "How about Wednesday we grab a couple of drinks too?" He asked, anticipating that he would really need a couple of drinks by then.

Tommy shook his head. "No. No offense, but if this is day one without Felicity…I do not want to see what day three looks like. This weekend."

* * *

"So how was work dear?" Moira asked as she reached for the rice.

"Good," he replied with an exhausted sigh. "The Stellmoor deal is done. We're in business."

It had been an excruciating three days of seemingly endless meetings. It had been made even more stressful by the fact that Felicity hadn't been there. He'd spoken to her briefly once, but that was it. She was usually what held him together during those long meetings and he'd had to face them alone. Finally, the deal was done. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Good," his father said with a smile. "You're going to dinner with the CEO tomorrow right? Charles Peterson?"

"Yes. To close everything off nicely."

"Mind if I tag along. I may no longer run the company, but I am interested in our newest business partner," Robert said.

Oliver looked at him in exasperation, much as he'd done when he was younger and his father had wanted to have a serious conversation. "Why didn't you offer to come out of retirement while I was in day-long meetings?"

Robert, Moira, Laurel, and Thea all laughed. "Because I didn't particularly want to attend day-long meetings," Robert replied with a huge grin.

For a moment they were silent, the only sounds were those of their forks and knives occasionally hitting the plates. "Day three without Felicity huh?" Thea said suddenly. "How's that working out for you Ollie?"

Oliver looked pointedly at his sister. He knew what she was insinuating. Reminding himself that nobody else knew, he smiled at her. "It's not easy, but I'll manage." In truth, it had been absolute hell. Felicity was always a step ahead, knowing which documents he needed, what meetings he had, and what notes were important to take so that he could review them later on. The worst of the week was over however, so he was sure that he could manage the rest of it.

Moira laughed lightly. "Guess you really don't know what you have until it's gone. I suggest you let her know just how much you appreciate what she does for you at the office when she gets back."

"I'll make sure to do that," he said, nodding curtly at his mother in affirmation. "Laurel how was your day?" He asked, needing to change the subject before Thea could say anything else.

"Tiring, but good. I had lots of paperwork to get through. They haven't assigned me a case yet, which is kind of annoying. I really want to do my job you know, and I am good in the courtroom."

"I'm sure you'll get your first case soon," Oliver assured her, smiling encouragingly.

Thankfully, his parents spent the rest of the dinner asking Laurel about what she'd been up to all these years and Thea did not say any more. After dinner they moved to the living room and while his parents spoke to Laurel he took a moment to talk to Thea. "Thea can I speak to you for a moment?"

Smiling sweetly, Thea stood from the armchair and followed him out of the room. "I was wondering when you would want to have this talk. I would have cornered you sooner, but you've been avoiding me."

Oliver refrained from rolling his eyes. "I have not been avoiding you Speedy. I'm actually busy…CEO remember? What are you doing Speedy?"

He watched Thea's eyes widen and her lower lip push out. "What do you mean?"

Oliver was getting tired of this. "Thea. Stop it and stop it now. Felicity and I are just friends and yeah okay, I stared at her when we went swimming. So what? My friend happens to be good looking. It doesn't mean anything."

Thea smiled widely. "So you admit she's beautiful?"

"Thea," he said sternly. But her smile never wavered and finally he sighed, and walked back into the living room. There was just no talking to his sister when she had her mind set on something.

* * *

Oliver closed his eyes, throwing his head back as he drowned the last of his scotch. The music pounded, the lights flashed in all different directions, and there was barely an empty corner in the club. Requesting a glass of vodka, he drank it all in: the music, the lights, and the people. All of the stress and tension had melted away since yesterday. He'd spent the entire night at the Verdant with Tommy yesterday and he was doing it again.

A soft hand sliding up his forearm drew him out of his daze. Taking a sip of his vodka, he smiled down at Laurel. She hadn't changed much, she was still the beautiful girl from his high school years, but tonight she looked _exactly _like she had all those years ago. Her hair was down, hanging just beyond her shoulders. She wore a tight-fitting black dress that accentuated every curve and a pair of red heels. The only thing missing, he thought absently, as he leaned in to press his lips against hers, was a bright shade of lipstick.

He threw his hands around her waist, pulling her flush against him as his lips assaulted hers. The taste of alcohol coated her lips, or where those his lips? He wasn't sure. His tongue brushed her bottom lip, and her lips parted, allowing him entrance. Her fingers trailed through his hair. Some part of him mused that the kiss felt different. His mind argued that he should have felt tingles of electricity shoot through him. Something was missing.

She gently caught his bottom lip between her teeth. He groaned, knowing that she couldn't hear it. He wondered if something had been missing all along. He tasted the alcohol once more and he was reminded that he'd had a couple of drinks. Nothing was missing, he told himself. His alcohol-singed mind was simply messing with his thoughts.

His hand trailed down her hip to her thigh and his fingers traced the hem of her delightfully short dress. He needed to get out of there right now. He needed to have her all to himself. Breaking the kiss, he placed his lips close to her earlobe. "Let's get out of here."

She giggled, playing with the buttons of his shirt. "What about Tommy?"

"He's managing the club…we probably won't see him for another hour and I can't wait that long."

She pressed her lips just at the corner of his. "Let's go."

He untangled himself from her, turning back to the bar where he had placed his vodka. He drowned the rest of it, just as his phone vibrated in his pocket. His throat burned and he enjoyed the sensation. His head buzzed slightly and he dug his phone out of his pocket.

**_"_****_Hey Oliver, _**

**_I just wanted to let you know that I'm at home. I'm not feeling too well though…so I won't be coming in tomorrow, but I'll call. I promise I'll be in on Tuesday. 3 _**

**_Love, your genius best friend." _**

Even in his buzzed state, it took him three seconds to dial her number. He could barely hear the ringing, but he smiled when he heard her voice. It took him a moment to realize that he'd gotten her voicemail and he slammed his finger on the screen to end the call.

"Ollie?" Laurel screamed over the pounding music. "Is something wrong?" Oliver shook his head slowly, turning and making his way up the stairs to the office.

It was much quieter in the office. "I just want to make sure Felicity's okay," Oliver said to Laurel as she closed the office door. He redialed her number again, again, and again. Each time he heard her cheerful voicemail, he became more and more frustrated. His mind was starting to formulate images of her looking pale, curled up on the bed or sofa, or sitting limply on her bathroom floor. And when those images had all fleshed out, he imagined her collapsing after sending him the text, hitting her head and passing out.

"Maybe she's sleeping it off," Laurel said after he'd tried the fifth time.

"I'm going to check on her," he said, pecking Laurel on the forehead before heading for the door.

Her hand resting on his forearm stopped him. "Oliver I'm sure she's fine. You'll call her tomorrow."

A surge of annoyance passed through him. He was wasting time. He should have left as soon as he'd received the text. "I'm going to check on her," he repeated, quickly wrenching open the door and making his way down the stairs before she could say another word.

He wasn't exactly _wasted, _but he knew that he wasn't supposed to be driving. His pre-college self would not even have acknowledged the fact that he wasn't supposed to be driving. Now however, the disapproving expression of favorite IT expert flashed in his mind and he hesitated for one second before he got into the car—only a second because his imagination began working on overdrive again.

He drove recklessly, passing through a few red lights, going about 95 mph. He finally arrived at her house, skidding to a stop. He all but jumped out of the car, some part of him marveling at how he'd made it to her house unscathed. Stumbling slightly, he knocked on her door, jamming his finger on the bell button.

The door opened moments later to reveal a weary-eyed, pajama-clad, Felicity. She wore long, purple, pajama pants with a heart print on them. Her top was loose fitting and had a large cartoon Panda on it. Her hair was in a loose ponytail and her glasses were slightly askew. Her fist came up to her face and she rubbed her eyes sleepily. He couldn't help but think that she looked adorable…and kind of sexy…

"Felicity!" Oliver exclaimed a little too loudly, relieved at seeing her.

"Oliver?" She asked, confused. She yawned, "What are you doing here?"

He took a moment to think about the question, the alcohol clouding his mind. "You texted me that you were sick…and you didn't pick up…"

She didn't respond. Instead, she rubbed her eyes again and stepped aside to let him in. He stumbled slightly, falling heavily on the couch. "You're drunk," she commented as she sat down beside him. There was disappointment laced in her voice and he cringed, waiting for the oncoming rant. It didn't come.

"I was at the Verdant…had a few drinks."

"And you drove," she stated dryly.

"You said you were sick," he said in his defense. "Are you okay?" He narrowed his eyes, searching for any signs that she had fallen, or hurt herself.

She nodded meekly. "I just have a massive headache and threw up twice. Airline food dose not agree with me apparently— even if it is first class airline food." She pushed up her glasses, standing. "You want me to make you some coffee?"

He laughed, grabbing her arm and pulling her back down on the couch. "I came here to take care of you, not the other way around."

She shrugged, resting her head on his shoulder. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, allowing his eyes to close for a moment. The last of his worries drifted away. She was okay. She hadn't fallen and hit her head. She wasn't feeling well, but it would pass. Suddenly, she stood and his eyes shot open. Before his eyes could focus, she'd disappeared into her room and moments later he heard the sound of her throwing up again. He stood, stumbling once or twice on his way to her room.

"Felicity?" He said worriedly, as he spotted her hugging the toilet.

"I'm okay," she said weakly. She stood on shaky legs, and he banded an arm around her waist to keep her steady. She made her way to the sink, gripping the edges until her knuckles turned white. Her breathing returned to normal and she grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste.

He left her to brush her teeth once he was sure that she could stand on her own and sat down to wait for her on her bed. She emerged shortly after and attempted a small smile. He smiled at her reassuringly, wanting more than anything to just hold her until it had passed.

"Oliver. I'm really tired…how about we sleep?" She asked, throwing the covers aside and climbing in. He nodded, haphazardly removing his suit jacket, his shoes, his dress shirt, and his pants. "Keep the boxers!" Felicity exclaimed, wide-eyed.

His only reply was a chuckle as he climbed in beside her. He wrapped an arm around her, drawing her close to him and she rested her head on his chest. "I love you, you know," he said, placing another kiss on top of her head. It had nothing to do with the alcohol. One measly week had reminded him just how much he relied on her—just how much she meant to him.

"I know," she said softly. "I love you too…"

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. As always, leave a comment :)  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I know... I know... I haven't posted in AGES... Yeah... What can I say? Life. I'm really sorry that I haven't posted in a while... you guys have been so great, following the story and commenting. Thank you so much for the comments! I started school though and ever since, I've hardly had time to BREATHE, let alone write.  
**

**In any case, I hope you guys like this chapter... I really still don't have any idea of how much longer the story will be, but I don't think it will be TOO much longer.  
**

**I read comments asking me about Felicity's illness in the last chapter, mainly whether or not she was pregnant. The answer is no. I honestly didn't even think about that until I read various comments that asked if it was morning sickness. Don't worry... she's not pregnant, she really did just have a bad reaction to some food. :) I hope that puts your mind at ease. :) **

**So here we have Chapter 5! I hope you guys like it.**

* * *

The first thing he felt was an oncoming headache. Its arrival was inevitable, that much he knew. Still, he lay perfectly still in a futile attempt to keep it at bay for as long as he could. The cold air brushed against his face almost uncomfortably in contrast to his comfortably tucked in body.

His right side felt warmer and he realized that there was a delicate weight placed on top of it. He wanted to sort out his thoughts, recall the events of the previous night, but he knew that it would require thinking. Thinking could very well lead to a premature headache.

Unfortunately for Oliver, his brain was wired just like anyone else's, so when he tried _not _to think, his brain kicked into overdrive. He groaned, thinking that this situation was familiar to him. He'd once woken up with a different girl at his side and a severe hangover every few days. He smiled to himself slightly despite the throbbing in his head. The woman who lay curled up against him wasn't just some girl he'd picked up. She was the girl who had picked him up, dusted him off, and made sure that he remained in good condition.

She shifted, draping her arm over his chest. He absently turned his head and placed a kiss in her hair, drawing circles on her hip with his thumb. He groaned again as his headache grew, muffling the sound in her hair. Evidently, he'd had more to drink than he'd thought. His eyes snapped open and it only took him a second to slam his eyelids shut once more. Luckily for him, Felicity's curtains were very thick and didn't let the violent sunlight in to further aid the throbbing in his head.

Laurel. He'd been with Laurel last night and he'd walked out on their…_date?_ Quality time? He wasn't sure what to call it, but he'd walked out on it and he needed to call her back. His hand stilled from where it drew circles on Felicity's hip. Slowly, he turned his head to the other side and cracked an eye open. He cracked the other eye open, reaching for his cellphone: 15 missed calls. Crap.

Felicity shifted again, burying her face into his bare chest. Her nose and lips brushed against his skin and the smallest of shivers passed through him. Missed calls forgotten, he set the phone down on the nightstand and wrapped his free arm around her. He'd shown up because she'd been sick and he would be damned if he didn't take care of her.

* * *

She woke up slowly, taking her sweet time to savor the feeling of her stomach _not _doing unpleasant summer salutes. She also noticed, as she became more conscious, that she was securely wrapped in someone's arms. Yawning, she smiled to herself remembering why he'd shown up at her doorstep the previous night. Her smile quickly faded as she remembered just _how _he'd shown up. He had been drunk and he'd driven to her house in that state.

Opening her eyes, she stared at the curtains covering her window for a moment. For some reason, she felt as if she were forgetting something important, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She shifted in Oliver's arms and tilted her head to look up at him. Despite her vision being slightly blurred, she could see that he was awake and looking down at her.

"Hey," he said softly, as if he were afraid he would startle her.

"Hey."

"How are you feeling?" He untangled one of his arms from her waist and his hand came up to brush some of her stray curls out of her face.

"Much better," she said smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"Horrible," he answered honestly.

She nodded in silent affirmation of her suspicion. She turned over on her back and reached for her glasses placed on the nightstand. "Oliver!" She protested as he plucked the glasses from her hands.

He chuckled, but put them on her himself, taking a few moments to adjust them and brush any remaining curls out of her face. She smiled, remembering how he liked doing that. _He used to meet her for coffee during their college days and one of the first things he always did once they sat down, was reach over and take her glasses off just to put them on again. _She had never understood it and she'd asked him about it time and time again, but he would tell her it was nothing—that he just liked doing that to remind himself of how they had met.

_She had been having the worst day_—_the worst week really. She had a huge paper to write on the topic of her choice, but it had to be analytical and for the life of her, she couldn't decide on a topic. By the time Saturday rolled around, she'd become so frustrated with herself that she had decided she needed to step away from the books. She took the day for herself, taking a taxi to a park further away than she really had to go. If she was going to get away, she was going to get away. _

_She had arrived, sat down on one of the benches and opened a book. Her brain didn't seem to want to go along with her plan of reading for leisure and forgetting the paper though, because she read the same paragraph five times, unable to focus on a single word. Steadily, she became more and more frustrated. Dumping the small book in her bag she stood abruptly, oblivious to the jogger approaching her. Before she could let out a huff of frustration, she found herself knocked over onto the ground with a slightly sweaty jogger on top of her. In the process, her glasses had flown off. _

_He'd quickly gotten off of her. Proceeding to practically lift her up, apologizing repeatedly. She'd been slightly annoyed, but she'd been too frustrated with herself, and that stupid paper she hadn't written one word for, to care much. She dusted herself off and when she was finished, she felt him cup her face to gently put her discarded glasses back in place. _

_"__I'm sorry," he repeated, smiling at her apologetically. _

_She found herself smiling as well, completely hypnotized by his bright blue eyes and his soft smile, "It's okay."_

_"__Let me make it up to you. I feel really terrible. I've never actually knocked over a person before…Can I buy you a cup of coffee?" _

"What are you thinking?" Oliver asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She smiled up at him, shaking her head. "Nothing." And then it dawned on her. This should have felt strange; they were lazily talking in bed, arms wrapped around one another. Sure, they had done this before. They had done this when they had first met.

_Felicity had stayed in an apartment during her college days instead of a dorm. It was better that way. She could concentrate on her schoolwork without any distractions. Occasionally, Oliver would show up on Saturday nights_—_Sunday mornings really, drunk. She always let him in, rubbing her eyes and sighing in exasperation. If he wanted coffee, she would make him coffee. If not, she would drag him tiredly over to the couch or bed and let him sleep._

Now things were different. They were older, and they were both in relationships. It should have felt strange, even slightly so, but it didn't. Felicity sat up, quickly throwing her legs over the side of the bed. "Coffee?" She asked, masking her sudden need to be disentangled from him. He nodded. She stopped at the bedroom door, pointing to her small walk-in closet. "There are a pair of your sweatpants in the back if you want those instead of your other clothes. I think there's even a green hoodie of yours in there."

He didn't say anything. He only smiled and she knew that he remembered where those had come from. _She'd shown up at his apartment for a change. She'd been in tears feeling as if she were drowning in the pile of work. Additionally, she'd had a heated discussion with her mother over the phone, whom reminded her that she'd wanted her to study law, or medicine. Her mother always reminded her of that whenever they talked, and this time, she'd had enough and broken down. Her father had cut her mother off as soon as he had arrived home and taken the phone from her, telling Felicity that he was proud of her and that she shouldn't listen to what her mother said._

_Oliver had let her in, listening to her tell him about how her mother never seemed to be able to understand and accept that her passion was technology, and how she had tons of work to do and felt as if she wouldn't be able to finish it all. He'd made her coffee, and watched Doctor Who with her. And when she'd gotten tired, he'd handed her a pair of his sweatpants and a green hoodie and held her until she fell asleep._

She heard him come into the kitchen and sit down at the small round table. She refrained from rolling her eyes when she saw that he was wearing the sweatpants, but not the hoodie. Cups of steaming coffee in hand, she set one down in front of him and one in front of the chair beside his. Then she quickly made her way to the bathroom, opening her medicine cabinet and taking out two aspirin.

She almost stopped short when she caught sight of him sitting at her table, calmly drinking his coffee in his sweatpants. It was so normal—the kind of scene that she'd imagined her life to play out when she was younger and dreamed of a family. Shaking her head to snap out of it, she made her way to the table and set down the aspirin before him.

"Thank you."

She nodded, bringing her mug to her lips, not trusting her voice at that moment.

* * *

They were on the couch. His head rested on her lap while she read a science magazine. The aspirin had helped, but the headache was still there.

"Oh my Gosh!" Felicity suddenly yelled, letting the magazine fall on his face. "Sorry," she said lifting the magazine.

"Would you like to tell me why exactly you felt the need to increase my headache?" Oliver asked mildly, running a hand over his face, eyes still shut.

"Oliver it's Monday! I was convinced it was Sunday, but it's Monday! Which means you're _extremely _late for work. Everyone must be worried… I mean I told you that I was sick…Oh gosh. You're right here! That means no one knows I'm not coming into work! I'll call the front desk right now and then you'd better call your mom." She lifted his head gently from her lap and stood, setting his head back down on the sofa. He turned his head to the side, watching her dial the number. She had changed into a pair of jean-shorts and a bright pink tank top. He caught himself staring at her legs and quickly turned his head so that he was looking up at he ceiling.

With a particularly painful surge of pain shooting through his head, he remembered Laurel. Crap. He hadn't looked at the phone again since he'd set it down earlier that morning. He needed to call her, but he was dreading the conversation.

Felicity finished her conversation on the phone and came to stand beside the couch. She held out the phone to him. He shook his head slowly. "My mom likes you more… you call her."

Felicity laughed, and the sound rang pleasantly through his ears. "Your mother does not like me more than her own son. You're cute."

He reached up and laid his palm on her upper thigh, his fingers playing with the hem of her shorts. "You're cute." He watched as an unreadable expression crossed her face and he wondered if he'd meant for his words to mean something else.

The phone in her hand rang and she looked away from him, answering. She listened briefly, biting her lip before looking back at him and holding out the phone to him. She wore an apprehensive and apologetic expression. He wanted to shake his head and tell her that he didn't want the phone, but he couldn't do that.

"Hello?"

"Oliver!" Laurel let out a sigh on the other end of the line. "You had me worried sick! You were drunk and you drove anyway….I called you about a hundred times and you didn't pick up!"

Oliver slowly let out a breath. Laurel didn't sound mad. She sounded genuinely worried. Clearing his throat, he apologized, and assured her that he was fine. He had averted his gaze from Felicity's for the entire conversation, but as he sensed that she was going to say 'goodbyes,' he met her blue eyes again.

"I love you," Laurel finally said as a farewell.

Looking into the blue eyes of his best friend, he recalled the last time he had uttered those words. He'd said them to her just a few hours ago.

Felicity's eyes widened and for a moment he was confused. She pressed her lips together, her brows drawing together. She tilted her chin. He could tell that she was trying to tell him something, but he wasn't sure what it was. 'Oliver,' she mouthed, eyes still wide.

He placed his hand on her thigh again. She placed her hand over his, squeezing it and he remembered Laurel on the other end of the line. _That's _what Felicity was trying to tell him.

"Oliver?" Laurel asked on the end of the line.

He cleared his throat. "Sorry. I..um… got lost in thought I guess," He saw Felicity's expression return to normal as she tilted her head and smiled at him to let him know that he'd said the right thing. "I love you."

"I love you," Laurel repeated before hanging up. He listened to the dial tone for a moment, wondering whom he'd said it to. Laurel, his mind uttered automatically in answer, but he wasn't so sure…

He felt his headache returning. He really needed to get a grip.

* * *

Laurel knocked on the door, sighing heavily with exhaustion. It had been a long day. The rain picked up and hit the ground more aggressively and she thought longingly about a nice cup of hot coca, or tea, and warm blankets. Perhaps she would spend the night at Oliver's instead of driving back home. At the thought, her mood lightened slightly.

"Ollie, final—Oh… Hi Laurel. I thought you were Ollie," Thea said as she stepped aside to let her inside.

Laurel looked up at the clock, confused. It was almost ten. "Ollie's not back yet?"

Thea shut the door. "Nope," she said shrugging.

"Oh… he came home earlier to change though right?" She knew the question made her sound slightly like an insecure girlfriend, but she couldn't help it.

"No. He called at around five and said that he was staying at Felicity's a bit longer because she wasn't feeling so well and neither was he," Thea said, moving to the living room. "I don't buy it though," Thea said letting herself fall on to the couch, "he sounded fine—happy—not miserable at all. Any excuse to spend time alone with his best friend." Thea, grabbed the nail polish on the coffee table and opened it, calmly painting her nails. "He doesn't like to share," she muttered under her breath.

Now Laurel felt awkward. Not only had Oliver not called her, but she'd come over to bring a few contracts that she'd picked up at Queen Consolidated and he hadn't even come home.

"I…uhh… just came over to bring some papers that Oliver needs to read—picked them up at the office."

Thea nodded, "Just set them down on the table."

Laurel opened her bag and took out the papers. Setting them down on the table, she closed her bag and stood awkwardly, not really knowing what to do now. Thea looked up at her then, a smile of pity crossing her features. "I'm sure he's on his way back as we speak. He'll really appreciate the fact that you brought him those papers."

Laurel nodded, suddenly feeling as if she were some sort of stranger—a recently hired secretary perhaps, who'd been asked to bring the papers to the home of the boss, the boss who was with his friend instead of being at home. Even as the thought entered her mind, she felt as if she needed to replace the word _friend_ with something more. She tried to push that last thought away, but the look of pity on Thea's face was not helping.

The question, 'Is there something I don't know, Thea,' was ready to roll off of her tongue, but she held it in, absolutely refusing to sound like the stupid girlfriend that one pities, or hates during the chick flick, because she doesn't realize that the protagonist loves and is meant to be with someone else. Laurel Lance was not that girl—not now, not ever.

"Would you like anything? Something to drink or eat maybe?" Thea asked, the pitiful smile still in place.

"No…I should be going," Laurel said.

"Oh…Okay. I'll be sure to tell Ollie that you dropped by. Thanks for leaving the papers here for him."

Laurel nodded, smiling her practiced smile. She knew it was perfect. She had no doubt that the smile would convince the younger Queen that she was fine. She'd used that smile the majority of the time over the years. Truth be told, she wasn't really even sure what her _real _smile looked like anymore, but that didn't matter. As long as she could convince those around her that she was feeling.

* * *

She found herself at the Verdant. She threw her head back and laughed. She wasn't sure what she was laughing at, or what had even brought her there, but it didn't matter when the alcohol buzzed warmly in her mind. She drowned another shot, giggling when a hand landed on her shoulder. She was turned, and she looked up to find Tommy a scowling down at her.

"Laurel. What are you doing?"

"Having a good time. Join me," she said, lazily playing with the button of his jacket.

"Laurel, you need to go home. You put an end to this," he gestured at the empty shot glasses behind her. "Don't start again…"

"Why," she asked, smiling widely as she leaned back against the counter of the bar.

"Because it hurts me to see you like this. You're my friend," Tommy explained, running a hand over his face.

She threw her head back, laughing with delight. Then she stopped abruptly as the image of her blond, blue-eyed boyfriend flashed in her mind: "Dosn'thurtOllie," she slurred.

Tommy's brows drew together and he sat on the barstool beside hers, "That's what this is about? Oliver?"

Laurel laughed again at the concerned look on her friend's face. She spun her chair and signaled at the bartender for another three shots.

"Laurel," Tommy said sternly. "What happened with Oliver?"

Laurel shook her head. "Iwanna…askyousomething. Does Ollie lofe Felizity?"

If she'd been sober, perhaps she would have noticed the way Tommy hesitated, the way he looked down at the counter in uncertainty, the way he let out a quick breath and schooled his features to look normal, but she wasn't sober, so she noticed none of it. "Of course he loves her. They are best friends. I love you don't I?"

She pushed her lip out in a fake pout, drowning another shot, laughing when the burning liquid had made its way down her throat. "Not whaf I meanttttttt"

He shook his head slightly. "No. He loves her as a friend—the same way I love her and you."

She drowned another two shots.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked it! I already have ideas for future chapters, but I always love reading your predictions...sometimes you guys are right! :D Anyways let me know what you think!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So it's been a little while yet again, but I am actually quite happy with this one. I hope you guys like it. :) **

* * *

Felicity sighed, looking apprehensively at the stack of papers that Oliver had placed haphazardly on the desk. There were yellow sticky notes sticking out from all sides of various documents. Unfortunately, Oliver's definition of 'organized' was ambiguous and questionable to say the least, and now, she had to really organize things.

Leaving Oliver to his own affairs, she had decided, was not a good idea. Next time, she would insist on the replacement EA. She squinted, bent over the desk, nose almost touching the paper as she tried to make out Oliver's scribbled handwriting on one of the many sticky notes. She was getting really tired of trying to 'decode,' Oliver's little notes to himself and she almost succumbed to the urge to rip off all of the yellow pieces of paper and crumple them into one big ball.

"Felicity?" Oliver said as he strode into his office.

Felicity jumped at the sound. "Seriously Oliver! That is your 'scare the crap out of Felicity' quota for the week."

He shot her an amused grin, coming over to his desk, at which she was seated. "Where are the reports from the IT department?"

Felicity shot him a mock glare. "If I find them in this mountain," she gestured at the stack of disorganized papers, "I'll be sure to let you know."

He paused and smiled apologetically at her. "Yeah..I am sorry about that."

"How did you manage without me?"

He chuckled, "Honestly, I don't even know." His face turned serious again, "Never mind the papers, the meeting is almost over anyway and I have plans with Laurel. I'll just take notes on the rest of the meeting."

"_NO!" _

Oliver looked at her, blue orbs wide with confusion.

Felicity dug her tablet out from underneath a smaller stack of papers and handed it to him. "Take notes on this. I want you to promise me…No more handwritten notes!" She looked dubiously at the latest sticky-note that she had been trying to decipher to make a point.

He laughed, making his way around the desk. "Sorry…" He placed a brief kiss on the crown of her head and promised to type up any and all notes from that point forward. Then he strode out of the room and back into the elevator.

With a long exhale, she returned her gaze on the damned sticky-note.

* * *

"Hello?" A soft voice said from the door some time later.

Felicity looked up, running a hand through her hair, which she had untied at some point during the day. She smiled slightly, "Hi Laurel. Oliver's still in a meeting. I'm sure he'll be done soon."

Laurel nodded, coming over to take the seat directly in front of Oliver's desk. There was an awkward tension in the air and Felicity wished that Laurel would just move to the perfectly comfortable couch instead. But Laurel didn't move, so Felicity simply turned her attention back on the papers in front of her.

She tried to concentrate, but aside from the fact that this sticky note was particularly hard to read, she could feel Laurel's eyes boring into her. She shifted in Oliver's comfortable chair, making a mental note to demand one of these for herself. After having read the note for the fifth time with no success, she ripped it off and crumpled it up, ready to move on to the next one.

Laurel's eyes still bore into her and she mentally pleaded that Oliver's meeting was wrapping up. After a moment she could take it no longer, reluctantly, she looked up at the brunette. As soon as their eyes met, Laurel smiled that smile that Felicity hated. It was just so fake. Felicity plastered on a smile of her own, hoping that it was believable, knowing that it probably wasn't. She was far too exhausted to be convincing.

"How are you feeling Felicity?"

"Much better thank you."

Laurel nodded, as if she were analyzing some hidden meaning behind her words. "That's good. I'm glad to hear that…"

Felicity set her jaw, a gesture she 'd seen Oliver perform when he was trying to remain civil and hold his tongue. Laurel was engaging in pointless small talk and Felicity's patience for the day had been used up. "Yep," she said, desperately needing to fill the awkward silence with something—anything.

"It was really nice of Oliver to take care of you."

Felicity was steadily growing more frustrated. What was the point of this conversation? She had a feeling that Laurel was going to ask her advice on something stupid like: what to get Oliver for Christmas. "Yes it was…"

She waited for Laurel to finally spit it out, but she remained quiet, never diverting her brown eyes. Uncomfortable, Felicity sighed and returned her eyes to the papers. Naturally, it was impossible to concentrate, so she eventually gave up and leaned back in Oliver's office chair, closing her eyes.

In her mind, she had already snapped at Laurel, demanding to know why she felt the need to stare, but her lips remained pressed together. Thankfully, Oliver's cellphone rang just as Felicity decided to say something. Out of habit, she sat up and reached for the phone. Glancing at the caller-ID she smiled before answering.

"Mrs. Queen."

Moira laughed on the other end of the line. "Hello dear, how are you?"

"Much better, thank you."

"Good." Felicity's smile widened at the response. Moira wasn't even in the room, but she knew that there was genuine warmth in her words, as opposed to those of Laurel. "Oliver's happy that you're back isn't he?"

"Yes. Now that I've returned he'll be able to see the wooden surface of his desk again," Felicity said glancing at the still, heavily cluttered desk. "Although he might have to wait until the end of the week…." She added.

Moira laughed again. "Rest assured that he appreciates everything that you do. He was absolutely lost without you."

"I'm sure that he was."

"Oliver isn't around is he?"

"No, he got held up in a meeting."

"Well, perhaps you can answer my question….will the two of you be joining us for dinner this evening?"

"No, sorry Mrs. Queen. Oliver has plans with Laurel," she glanced up at the brunet offering her a half-hearted smile, "and I am planning to stay and finish some things before heading home."

"Alright dear. Come by the house soon…and don't stay too late. Go home. Get some rest."

"Will do," Felicity said.

Moira was silent for a moment and Felicity had a feeling she wanted to ask something. "Felicity?"

"Yes?"

There was another long pause before Moira cleared her throat, "No… it's nothing. Have a nice evening dear."

Felicity felt the urge to probe Mrs. Queen to ask her question, but she resisted and wished her a pleasant evening before hanging up.

"Do you do that often?" Laurel asked as Felicity set the phone down and scooted closer to the desk in order to properly shut down Oliver's computer.

She bit her bottom lip, feigning concentration. Every nerve in her body was screaming at Laurel and the accusatory tone that her voice had adopted, but she took her time shutting down the computer instead. "Do what?" she asked through gritted teeth, every fiber of energy concentrated on sounding nonchalant.

"Pick up Oliver's phone," Laurel said without missing a beat.

Eyes trained on the screen, Felicity shrugged. "I guess." She could have explained that Oliver also picked up her cell-phone on a regular basis, but she didn't feel that Laurel was owed an explanation. Of course, Laurel did have the right to an explanation, she was the girlfriend after all, but Felicity was far too irritated to care. Where the hell was Oliver? Why was he taking so long?

"Felicity?"

Using her exhaustion as an excuse, she ran a hand over her face in exasperation. "Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

'For goodness sakes, spit it out,' she wanted to shout. Instead, she merely nodded.

The elevator doors slid open and Oliver strode into the office. "Hey. I'm really sorry that took so long."

Laurel stood and went over to him, placing a kiss on the edge of his jaw as Felicity picked up the pen she had been using earlier, letting out a breath of relief. Saved by the elevator bell, so to speak.

"Ready to go?" Oliver asked Laurel.

"Yes."

He stepped away from her, coming around the desk to grab his cellphone. "Felicity…how about you call it a day?"

"I'm only going to stay a little bit longer," she responded without looking at him. "Your mom called by the way. She wanted to know if we would be coming for dinner, but I told her you were going out and I was staying longer."

"Alright, thank you."

The sleeve of his tailored suit entered her line of vision as he set down her tablet on the table. "I typed up the notes."

"I'll print them out. Have a nice night. I'll see you tomorrow." She was already scrolling through the notes he had taken.

His hand came to rest on her shoulder and she turned to look at him. "Call it a day Felicity."

"Just a little bit longer. I promise I won't stay . Have fun."

He dropped his hand, smiling as he pocketed his phone and headed over to Laurel who was sending her that fake smile again.

* * *

At eight, her phone rang and she pushed away from the desk slightly before answering it. A small gasp escaped her as she turned the chair towards the window looking out over the city to find the sky pitch black.

"Hello?" Thea asked, confused by her gasp.

"Hey Thea. Sorry I just realized that it's late."

"Don't tell me you're still at the office."

"I am. I got caught up in the work and lost track of time. By the way, did you know your brother has horrible note-taking skills."

Thea laughed. "Yeah… unfortunately we share that trait. You should see my History notebook." Felicity laughed, standing and turning off the desk light. "I want you to leave right now and come over to eat some dinner and crash."

"I'm turning off my computer right now," Felicity assured her as she grabbed her bag and locked Oliver's office door. "I'm going to head home though."

"No. I'm guessing that you haven't made dinner yet. Just come over we've got plenty of left-overs and then you can just crash in Ollie's bed."

Felicity's brows drew together. "Why wouldn't I just crash in one of the guest rooms?"

"Ha! So that's a 'yes' then. Great! I'll go heat up the left-overs."

Shaking her head in amusement, Felicity stepped into the elevator. Thea's proposal did sound appealing. She _was _hungry and she wasn't really in the mood to make dinner. "Fine. I'm coming over, but I'll sleep in my own home."

"See you soon," Thea said ignoring the last part of her sentence.

* * *

"So the tech conference-thiny was good then?"

"Yeah," Felicity said as she took her plate to the kitchen with Thea on her heels. "It was really amazing….I've got tons of new tech equipment that I need to pitch to Oliver—actually Stefan needs to pitch it to him.

Thea snorted, "If Stefan pitches it to him it'll take ages for him to get the tech stuff."

"Equipment," Felicity corrected.

Thea waved her hand in the air, "Yeah that. Anyway, if _you _pitch it to him I bet you'll have the stuff within a week of their official release."

Thea had a point, that much Felicity new. Her best friend status did result in Oliver taking her advice on technical matters, but it was never that simple with Thea. There was some underlying message.

"What does that mean?" She asked, as she followed Thea out of the kitchen.

Thea said nothing in response. She silently walked to her room, Felicity trailing behind. Once they entered her room she fell heavily on the couch. "Come on. Let's be honest. I know you and Ollie are best friends, but it's more than that."

Felicity stared at her, eyes wide. Thea's words had shocked her. There had been moments throughout their friendship when she knew that, to anyone on the outside, they looked less than platonic, but it was strange to finally hear someone say it. Sure, people had said it before—often people they had just met—, but once they explained that they were just friends, the question wouldn't arise again.

She wasn't about to lie. She'd been attracted to Oliver when she'd first met him, but she'd put those feelings aside because Oliver had needed a friend, not a girlfriend. She was still attracted to Oliver—who wasn't? But attraction was one thing, romantic love was another entirely. She knew, without having to ask herself, that her love for him extended further than the friendship barrier, but she wouldn't cross that line. She was happy with Stefan and he was happy with Laurel.

"Thea, I know it looks like that sometimes, but we really are just friends."

"Except, I don't buy that."

Felicity shook her head smiling in order to assure Thea that her little theory was crazy. Thea stood abruptly and left the room. Sighing, Felicity followed her. They ended up in Oliver's room and just as Felicity was about to give Thea the 'invasion of privacy' speech, Thea grabbed the picture on Oliver's nightstand.

"Who is this?" She asked as she turned the picture so that Felicity could see.

But Felicity didn't need to see. "That's me and Oliver when I spent Christmas with you guys for the first time."

"And how long ago was that?"

Felicity's shoulders sagged. This was pointless she wasn't going to go there. "I'm not even sure anymore. I guess one year after I met him…."

Thea nodded in affirmation and set the picture back down. She stalked over to his computer, wiggling the mouse so that the screensaver would appear on the black screen. "And this?"

Without looking, looking instead at her feet, Felicity said "Me, you, and Oliver at the opening of the Verdant."

"Wrong," Thea said pointedly.

Felicity snapped her head up to look at the screensaver. There was no _way _that she was wrong about that. She'd been here just a few weeks ago and Oliver wasn't one to change his screensaver.

There, on the screen was a photo she had never seen before. She recognized it though—the event anyway. _Oliver had flown her parents in on her last birthday as a surprise. She'd been speechless when he had walked into that morning's board meeting with her parents in tow. That evening they'd all gone out to eat at her favorite Italian restaurant; it had been Tommy, Thea, her parents, Oliver's parents, Oliver, and of course, her. It had been one of the best birthdays she'd ever had. She'd been surrounded by everyone that she loved and that loved her. Her parents had stayed for two weeks after that_—_they'd stayed in the Queen mansion. As a result, she'd gone straight home with Oliver every day after work so that they were present at the collective family dinner. The whole two weeks had been amazing. _

Nothing could top that birthday in her book. She'd seen all of the pictures they had taken. In fact, she had them all, or she'd thought she had them all. This picture was one of many that they'd taken in the restaurant. She sat right in front of the large cake, the candles casting a warm glow on her face. She was smiling, but she wasn't looking at the camera and neither was Oliver, who sat next to her. They were both looking at something on their right, perhaps they had been laughing at something Tommy had said. They were sitting so close to each other that it looked like they sat on a bench instead of two seperate chairs. Oliver's grey suit-jacket was draped over her shoulders—she'd forgotten her jacket that day—and his arm was casually draped over her shoulders as well. The picture looked like something out of a movie, or a Kodak commercial.

For a moment, she thought about how she would scold Oliver for keeping this picture from her and then she remembered the reason Thea had brought her to Oliver's room in the first place. The question, 'So?' was on the tip of her tongue, but she didn't utter it because it made no sense to utter it. Looking at the picture, she could tell that it was a stupid question. Any stranger who happened to glance at the picture would easily bet $500 dollars, or more, on the assumption that they were married—the stranger probably wouldn't bat an eye.

"My mom was looking through her camera about a week and a half ago and she found this one. She showed Oliver and it's been here ever since," Thea explained.

Felicity nodded, suddenly needing to put some space between herself and Oliver's room. She was reminded of the previous morning when she'd woken up in his arms. She'd later walked into the kitchen and found him sitting so peacefully at the table drinking coffee as if it was something he did every morning.

She could just feel that little friendship barrier in her head start to crumble. Shaking her head slightly, she smiled to convince Thea that she was seeing things that weren't really there. "Friends Thea. Just friends." She didn't believe it herself—not anymore. Still, she said it because she knew how persistent the younger Queen was. If Thea was convinced that she felt nothing more than friendship towards Oliver then she wouldn't try to get them together and it would be easier for Felicity to find a way to lock those feelings away again.

"You don't even believe that," Thea said with a small, almost apologetic, smile.

Felicity forced out a laugh. "Thea we really are just friends. He's my best friend and I do love him, but he is my _friend_. Please let this go Thea…it'll be wasted effort." Felicity forced out another laugh, surprised at how real she managed to make it sound, "Thea I really do have to go. I have more of your brother's handwriting to decipher tomorrow…it's going to be a long day."

Thea was quiet for a moment, staring at her intently. Finally she tilted her head. "You two would make the best couple," she sighed. "Oh well…" She stood and lead the way out of the room. "You really should get some sleep if you've got to go through more of those notes though," Thea laughed. "If you want to feel like Oliver has the most beautiful and legible handwriting in the world, just let me know and I'll bring over my History notebook."

"That bad huh?"

"Oh, you have no idea…"

But Felicity didn't hear her…and when she was already half way home, she realized she didn't even remember saying 'goodbye' or stepping into the car. The photograph consumed half of her thoughts and the other half of her thoughts were consumed by lies that she was feeding herself in order to lock away the very un-platonic feelings that the picture had generated.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked it! Let me know what you think! :D  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So I'm back with another chapter...yaay! Thank you so much for the wonderful comments. **

**Someone asked me what my update schedule was. Unfortunately, I can't really answer that question because I have tons of schoolwork, so I write when I have time.**

**This chapter is a bit of a bridge to the next one, so bear with me. Still, I hope that you like it. **

* * *

He was talking about her— about how many memories they had shared together, about how many times she'd helped him and Tommy get out of trouble, about how much Tommy had badgered him to make things right after they'd gone their separate ways…Still, she barely heard what he said. She wondered if some part of his mind was thinking about his blond IT expert. Laurel didn't know the whole story and now she wondered what memories Oliver shared with her.

"Laurel?"

Blinking a few times, she refocused on Oliver. He looked genuinely concerned and she gave him a small smile. "Sorry…I—just…"

"Is everything alright?" Oliver asked, placing his hand over hers on the table.

"Yes. I'm sorry. My mind just wandered off."

He leaned back in his seat, smiling as he took a sip of wine. "What were you thinking about?"

Some part of her wanted to be honest. She wanted to tell him what was bothering her because that's what they were together for. She should have been able to tell him anything, but some part of her was afraid of his reaction and that in itself said something about their relationship. In the end, she lied: "About that time you and Tommy thought it was a good idea to Teepee Mr. Greene's house."

Oliver laughed, shaking his head, "In our defense, he was the worst math teacher ever!"

* * *

She poured the hot water into the mug and sat down at her kitchen table, sipping slowly. It seemed strange that hours earlier she'd been affected by a mere picture, made to believe that perhaps Oliver felt something more than friendship towards her. She'd watched him, and listened to him pine for Laurel and now he finally had her. Felicity wasn't exactly Laurel's biggest fan and she was sure that Laurel didn't exactly like her either, but he made Oliver happy and that's all that mattered.

There was a knock on her door and she stood, grabbing her bag and glancing quickly at the kitchen appliances to make sure she'd turned everything off. Stefan was waiting for her, smiling widely, hands in his pockets. "Hey beautiful."

Closing the door, she spun around and gave him a kiss. A feeling of warmth washed over her and she was reassured that her little emotional trip—she really wasn't sure what to call it—had been fleeting. Her relationship was great and her friendship with Oliver was rock solid. Everything was right.

"I don't think Oliver will go for the new touch-screen computer monitors," Stefan said as he drove.

They had begun talking about the cool technical equipment that they had seen during the conference. The brand new touch-screen monitors fully equipped with the latest and greatest operational software had been Felicity's favorite gadget. Stefan was right of course, Oliver was definitely not going to want those. "Well then, you'll just have to convince him to get one for the heads of the departments," Felicity said.

Stefan shook his head, smiling. "Yeah that would get me one, but what about you?"

Felicity shrugged. "Oliver would _hate _a touch-screen monitor… he'd just give it to me." She giggled at the thought of Oliver attempting to accomplish things on a touch-screen monitor.

Stefan chuckled, "You're probably right."

He leaned in to kiss her as the elevator stopped on the floor of the IT department and she made sure to wipe off any lingering lipstick with her thumb before he stepped out. When she got to the top floor, Oliver hadn't arrived yet. A loud groan of frustration escaped her as she caught sight of the stack of papers still on his desk. She'd forgotten all about the horribly written sticky notes.

She threw her coat and bag onto her desk, shoving open her top drawer and grabbing the magnifying glass. Weapon in hand, she took a deep breath, ready to face the cursed doctor handwriting. It took all about five minutes for her to lose her determination. Even with the magnifying glass, the scripture was illegible. She was so demotivated to finish organizing the papers that she almost called Thea to ask her if she could bring her History notebook by the office after school. Perhaps worse handwriting _would _motivate her, she thought sarcastically.

She was staring off into the distance when Oliver entered the office. "You know, you look good in that chair."

She blinked a few times, smiling. "It's funny you should say that because I was thinking that I was going to demand one of these for my desk."

He chuckled, straightening his black tie as he came to stand in front of the desk. "Demand huh?"

"Yes. Look at my poor old chair," She gestured at the brand new office chair where she had dumped all of her stuff. It was much smaller than Oliver's, true, but it was brand new. "It's begging for retirement."

He raised an eyebrow, pressing his lips together in amusement. "Yeah, it looks miserable," he said.

She nodded, spinning Oliver's chair. "Think about it," she said as she picked up the magnifying glass again.

"What's on the agenda for today?" He asked as came around the desk and opened the bottom drawer, shuffling through the files.

"Unfortunately, _You _have a meeting and _I _have to continue decoding your secret messages."

"Another meeting? That's all I seem to do!"

She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "I don't know if you've noticed Mr. Queen, but you _are _the CEO."

He chuckled as he continued to rummage through the files. She bit her lip to keep from laughing as she glanced to the side where she had the papers he was looking for. He had to know by now that she was always one step ahead. After a moment, she took pity on him and grabbed the file, smacking him on the head with it.

"Hey!" She laughed, handing him the file. Realizing what it was, he discarded his fake pout and smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks."

* * *

Oliver sighed as he walked back to his office. Felicity was the thing that made those meetings bearable, but she'd insisted on finishing up in his office. He'd been bored, but everything had gone well. It was a simple progress update meeting. Just as he stepped into the elevator his phone rang and, suppressing a yawn, he picked up. "Hello?"

"Oliver dear is Felicity with you?" Moira asked as soon as he answered.

"Well 'hello' to you too mom," Oliver said in amused sarcasm.

"Hello dear. Is Felicity with you?"

"I'm in the elevator mom, if you hold on I'll be in my office shortly. She has a cellphone you know."

"I am aware Oliver, but she's not picking up."

"Why so urgent?" Oliver asked.

"I need her to talk some sense into her parents."

"What?" Oliver asked in confusion. Felicity's parents got along famously with his parents; it made no sense.

"They're coming to stay for a few weeks and they want to book a _hotel_," Moira explained indignantly as he stepped out of the elevator.

Oh, that made sense. Oliver chuckled at his mother's tone. He strode up to the desk, wordlessly handing Felicity the phone, before moving over to the couch and sitting down.

He watched in amusement as Felicity tried to calm his mother down. Her eyes were wide as she stared in the other direction, listening intently to his mother's rant. Her brightly, painted fingernails tapped softly against the wooden surface of the desk and she bit her lip. "But Mrs. Queen," she began, "I really don't see what's so bad about them staying in a hotel. They don't want to be a bother so—"

Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes. Felicity's soft voice filled the quite space again after some time. "Yes... Yes, I'll speak to them Mrs. Queen, but I can't promise any—Yes. I'll try…. Alright, I'll call you back."

"You're calling your parents?" Oliver asked without opening his eyes.

"Yeah," Felicity said solemnly. "Your mom has no idea…convincing my parents to stay at the Queen mansion is going to be almost impossible. They hate being a bother. How the heck did you convince them when they came here for my last birthday?"

Oliver shrugged, feeling just a little smug. "It was easy. I just told them that I would love it if they stayed at the mansion."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Felicity exclaimed in disbelief.

"Nope. That's all I had to do." He smiled again, hoping that his smugness wasn't too obvious. He liked the fact that Felicity's parents listened to him because his own parents listened to Felicity more than they listened to him.

He heard Felicity greet her mother and begin to explain that it would be much easier if they stayed at the mansion and that it really wasn't any trouble at all. From what he heard however, Felicity was having a very hard time convincing her mother. "Mom, Mrs. Queen just called me herself… it's no bother at all…" The conversation went on and he heard Felicity's tone grow steadily more exasperated.

Taking pity on his best friend, he opened his eyes and stood, walking into her line of vision and silently opening his palm. With an exasperated look of: '_You try it,' _Felicity placed the phone in his palm and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest, a smug smile in place.

"Mrs. Smoak, how are you today?" He asked smoothly, never breaking eye contact with Felicity.

"Oliver! I'm fine thank you. How are you?"

Oliver could hear that Diana Smoak was glad for the change in topic and he was almost sorry that he was going to bring it up again. "Fine, thank you. Diana, I actually have to agree with Felicity and my mother on this one. You and Richard really should stay with us."

Diana sighed and Oliver could just imagine her rolling her blue eyes that were identical to her daughters'. Felicity's smug smile faded and she rolled her eyes, spinning the chair around. Oliver had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "Oliver. We really don't want to be a bother. It was very nice of you to let us stay last time, but we wouldn't want to take advantage of that."

"Diana, you aren't doing that in the least. My mother called me personally a few minutes ago. She was very upset that you and Richard _weren't _planning to stay with us. Talk it over with Richard when he gets home and let me know, but do think about it."

For a moment, she said nothing. "I'll call Moira now and let her know that we'll stay," Diana said almost to herself.

"Great! We'll see you in a week then." As he said that, Felicity planted her feet on the ground, effectively stopping the chair from spinning. Her blue eyes were wide, and her mouth hung slightly open in disbelief. Oliver couldn't help but think she looked adorable. He bode his farewells to Diana and smoothly set the phone down.

"_How?_ You just said the same things that I said!" Felicity exclaimed indignantly as she stood from the chair.

He shook his head, amused, walking around the desk to stand in front of her. He dipped his head slightly, so that his mouth almost brushed over the side of her face. "I said it the _right _way." His voice came out lower than he had intended, and he wondered if it was obvious. He had the sudden urge to place his hands on her hips. He wanted to place his lips against her floral-scented skin.

She hadn't responded to his comment, the only sound was that of her soft breathing. He turned his head so that his lips pressed against the side of her face. It wasn't what he _wanted_, but he wasn't able to make himself simply walk away. He had to quell the desire to be with her, somehow. His lips lingered on her skin slightly longer than was appropriate, but he pulled away.

He was reluctant to look at her, hoping against all hope that she didn't accuse him of 'messing around' with her. To his relief, she smiled at him, titling her head to the side. It was her usual smile, the smile that he could identify from a mile away as the smile of his best friend. The tilt of her head reassured him that she was either completely oblivious to his conflict, or that she simply chose to dismiss it as an unintentional moment.

This was getting out of hand though…he needed to get a grip on whatever it was that constantly had him staring at her and wanting to touch her.

"Mr. Queen," Stefan's voice called from the office door.

Oliver took a quick step back, as Felicity turned towards her boyfriend, smiling brightly. Stefan smiled at her in return, unfazed by the closeness in which he had found them standing. But Oliver knew better, Stefan was a man and that meant that he was most probably not to keen on the idea that Felicity was the best friend of her billionaire boss, or the fact that she spent most of her time with that very same billionaire boss.

"What can I help you with Mr. Warren?"

"I just wanted to set up a meeting to talk about the new technological equipment that was shown at the conference."

Oliver noted, that Stefan's grey eyes had turned hard despite the fact that his smile was still perfectly in place. "We could do that right now if you have the time," he replied dryly.

"Nope," Felicity said, passing him and walking towards her boyfriend, a stack of papers in hand. "You have a meeting with our applied sciences division later today and I do not want you to rush this meeting." She stopped in front of Stefan, giving him a quick peck on the lips before walking around him and towards the elevator. "I need to copy some papers," she said over her shoulder as she entered the elevator.

"Tomorrow then," Oliver said, returning his gaze quickly to Stefan, whose smile had now vanished.

For a moment he looked angry, but then his anger vanished as well and his expression changed to one of indifference. "Tomorrow then," he repeated before turning on his heel and making his way to the elevator.

He had every right to be angry, Oliver thought. He would have been angry too, but he'd only looked angry for a moment and that confused him. Perhaps Stefan let it go because he knew how much his friendship meant to Felicity. If that was true, then he really was good for Felicity; he put her needs before his own.

* * *

She glanced at him for what seemed like the hundredth time. _'Stop it,' _she mentally scolded herself. She locked her eyes on the screen of her tablet, resolved not to look at him for the remainder of the meeting in case someone noticed. She had agreed to attend this meeting in the hopes that it would distract her from her earlier encounter with Oliver.

_Why, why, why _did he have to do that? She'd held it together well, giving no indication that it had affected her in any way, shape, or form. In reality, it hadn't really because he had often joked about his ability to use his charm. His little demonstration— the low voice, the closeness, the lingering kiss— was something that he'd done many times to prove how good he was at it. She would laugh and swat him on the arm whenever he did that. She'd even pecked him on the cheek in return on a few occasions.

He'd done it again earlier as a joke, and it had felt utterly normal. It was only when Stefan had walked in a few moments later that she realized it _shouldn't _have felt normal. It _shouldn't _have, but it did. She'd walked into the elevators a little guilt-stricken, but otherwise fine. And then she'd remembered the picture. It had jumped to the foreground of her mind and it had refused to be pushed to the back.

Now, she thought about it again as she stared at the blank document on her tablet screen. Just a few hours earlier, she had thought that it meant that Oliver felt more towards her, but she realized that they'd always conducted their friendship that way. Oliver probably didn't even realize it. She wondered if there was something inherently wrong with their friendship. They confided in one another, found comfort in one another, were protective of one another, and spent excessive amounts of time with one another. That was all normal, a part of friendship. They also looked like they were married, sometimes acted like they were married, and didn't even realize it. That _wasn't _part of the friendship deal. Yet, it didn't really bother her and she knew that it _should _have.

"It's almost over," he leaned in to assure her.

She almost laughed. Usually she was the one to remind him that the meeting was almost over. She smiled, letting the worries slip away. She decided that yes, there was something inherently wrong with their friendship, but she honestly didn't care. She _should _have. If not for their sake, for the sake of their respective others, but she didn't. Just this once she was going to be selfish. After all, it's not like they were really doing anything wrong. They were simply going about their friendship as they always had.

Some part of her warned her that it really couldn't continue to go smoothly. Neither of them had been in really serious relationships throughout the course of their friendship, so they had been able to conduct their friendship in their odd little way. Now things were different. They were in serious relationships. Some part of her knew that it really couldn't continue the way it was, but she pushed that thought away, deciding not to think about it until it became a problem.

* * *

Oliver got home that night just as his father and Thea also parked. He parked beside his father and waited for Thea to step out of the passenger seat of the other car before he opened his door and stepped out. Thea gave him a tight hug. She then proceeded to dash into the house, muttering something about a scheduled Skype call with one of her friends that she was going to be late for.

Robert waited for him at the door and they entered the house together. "How was work?"

"Good. How was your day?" Oliver asked as he shrugged out of his suit jacket.

"Good. Your mother walked around ranting for a while though. Then Diana called again and she was all smiles and hand gestures." Robert chuckled. "You know how she is…"

Oliver chuckled. "Yes, I do. She called me at work, demanding to speak to Felicity so that Felicity could talk some sense into her parents."

Robert shook his head. "Speaking of, can you see the surface of your desk again?"

Oliver's brows drew together in confusion. "How did you know my desk was a mess?"

Robert laughed at that. "First of all, Felicity was gone for a week and you're not the best in terms of organization. Secondly, Felicity mentioned it to your mother and she mentioned it to me."

Oliver shot his father an exasperated look, "Yes I can see the surface of my desk again."

Robert's only response was a booming laugh.

When they entered the living room, they found Moira on the phone. She was making all sorts of suggestions for things that they could do once the Smoak family arrived, so Oliver deduced that she was probably talking to Diana.

"You're kidding," Robert said. "When I left she was already talking to Diana."

Oliver smiled, shaking his head. "I just hope that she remembers that Felicity and I have jobs because these plans sound like they take the whole day…" Sighing, Oliver looked apprehensively at the staircase. "Well, I'll be in the upstairs study. I have homework…" Robert raised an eyebrow in question, "I have a few contracts that need to be read," he explained.

Robert smiled, patting him on the back in sympathy before moving to the couch to sit beside Moira.

* * *

**A/N: So there was a lot of Felicity trying to find explanations for the way that they go about their friendship...The thing is that she _knows _its more than that, but she doesn't want to cross that perfect little line just yet, so she makes excuses instead. I promise that it won't take too much longer for them to stop being completely stubborn. The next chapter is going to be a nice little family chapter...we'll see a lot more character interactions and whatnot. We'll also see more flashbacks. :) As always, let me know what you think! **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Yes it's been forever... I know... It's senior year people. Do I really need to say more? (In case anyone is curious... senior year translates into an UNBELIEVABLE amount of work).  
**

******I haven't even had time to go through all of the comments, but I will soon. Promise. **

**Just a little note before we begin: I've recently started watching Suites (in the little free time I have), and I noticed that one of the seasons the secretary of the main character starts dating a guy named Stefan. If you do watch the show, I have to say that that was a total coincidence. I picked that name because I also watch Vampire Diaries and I'm horrible at coming up with names.**

**Also, I know Felicity was a little bit OCC in the last part of the previous chapter, but it will be addressed.**

**Lastly, I have to say that I am liking the new season of Arrow. I'm not fully caught up, but I'm liking it so far. I also came to like Ray more than I expected I would, but don't worry... I still ship Olicity. **

**All that said, If you're still with me and still reviewing... thank you! I appreciate it a bunch! **

* * *

Felicity woke on Monday morning with the same sick feeling that had plagued her the whole weekend. She went through the motions, getting ready all the while avoiding the mirror at all costs. Her little carefree attitude had faded quickly. The guilt had built up. She hadn't done anything, but she knew that she wasn't being fair to Stefan.

To combat the guilt, she'd immersed herself in her computers, finally setting up the new software she had bought weeks ago. She'd spent the rest of the weekend playing with all of the brand new features and making sure that her phone conversations were short. She'd fended off any attempt by Stefan, Thea, and Oliver, to hang out, claiming that she was far too immersed in her new software. It wasn't a complete lie.

The weekend was over though and it was time to get back to reality. She had a job to go to and her parents were arriving in the afternoon, so somehow, she needed to get her shit together. She knew what she had to do, but she didn't want to do it. There were two options and she liked neither. One option was to distance herself slightly from Oliver, just enough to change their friendship dynamic. Simple. The other option was to break up with Stefan, so that he could move on and find someone whom gave all their attention to him. Simple.

The problem lay in the fact that it _wasn't _simple. She couldn't bare the thought of distancing herself from Oliver. In theory it wasn't that bad, but she was afraid that he would be confused by the sudden change. She knew that if he asked, she wouldn't say anything and then, eventually, he would distance himself too…On the other hand, she did love Stefan. They hadn't been together that long, and she didn't exactly have the feeling that he was the ultimate love of her life, but she loved him nonetheless.

Letting out a breath, she looked up at her reflection, knowing that she needed to do so in order to apply the eyeliner. She recognized herself of course. The selfish person who'd decided that she quite frankly didn't care about how her friendship with Oliver affected Stefan or Laurel was not the person she was used to seeing in the mirror. She smiled slightly at the reflection…she'd harbored an irrational fear that she wouldn't be able to recognize herself—that she would be altered. She was glad to see that she wasn't.

* * *

She sat in her car, trying to find the strength to turn the damned engine off, get out, and do what she had to do. Closing her eyes and leaning slightly back she concentrated on stilling the million thoughts buzzing restlessly through her head. There was a soft tap on the window and she jumped so high that she hit her head against the roof of her car. Her eyes scanned around restlessly as she tried to calm her breathing, her hand moved to her head instinctively.

When she calmed down and her eyes focused on the very apologetic face of none other than Tommy Merlyn, she shot him a good glare. He walked around the front of the car and she unlocked it. He opened the door of the passenger seat and slid inside. "Sorry."

Her only response was a small groan as she rubbed the top of her head.

"You look extra nice today," he said gesturing at one of her favorite deep-blue dresses.

Shooting him another glare, she said: "Nice try… I'm still mad."

"I was being serious and, no you aren't."

Dropping her hand, she pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. "No I'm not." She sighed, "Thank you. My parents are arriving today," she explained.

"I know," he said smiling slightly. She knew that smile. That smile meant that he wanted to talk. "I doubt that's why you're sitting in your car instead of heading to your office."

Felicity sighed, hoping that he would get the hint that she really didn't want to talk about it. No such luck.

"What's on your mind Felicity?"

She knew that the whole denial and change of topic thing wouldn't work, so she simply said: "Relationships are complicated."

Tommy's brows drew together quickly and he clenched his jaw, "What did Stefan do?"

She almost smiled at his sudden defensive attitude. He looked like he was ready to cause a concussion. "Nothing. He didn't do anything. _I'm _the problem Tommy."

Tommy scoffed. "Yeah right."

Felicity looked down at her lap and began fidgeting with her bracelet. She felt so ashamed…she was hurting people and she _knew _it. At least Oliver was oblivious to the whole thing. But she—she _knew. _She knew and she hadn't _cared. _"I _am _the problem Tommy…I'm hurting people. It _isn't _fair. I can't even get out of my car because of the guilt…"

He was silent for a moment and she just wished that he would yell at her, or tell her that she was a bad person. She couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes, so her gaze remained fixed on her bracelet. "Felicity…whatever it is…I'm sure that—"

"It's me and Oliver."

A deafening silence engulfed the car. Something hung heavy in the air. It felt as if an invisible blanket had suddenly appeared to cover them, but it wasn't a pleasant warm feeling that usually came with blankets. It was heavy and suffocating. Suddenly her head snapped up to look at Tommy, whom was staring straight at the dashboard of the car. She realized that he knew. He wasn't oblivious.

Leaning his head against the headrest, he sighed. "It's not your fault. You didn't know Felicity…"

"That's the problem! I ignored it and then when I _did _realize that we act like a married couple, and that our relationship is not appropriate as a friendship, I didn't _care_." She covered her face with her hands in shame. "I hurt people. Stefan and Laurel…both unintentionally and intentionally!"

She felt Tommy's hands wrap around her wrists as he gently tugged her hands away from her face. "You didn't do anything intentionally Felicity. You didn't know. It's not your fault. You and Oliver have always had a strange friendship and that's just how it is. Old habits die hard…"

"That's no excuse and you know it."

"No. I suppose it isn't. Now that you know, maybe you should talk to Oliver because I think he still doesn't fully see it."

She internally groaned. That's the last thing she wanted to do. How the heck would that conversation go: '_Hey Oliver. I just realized that our friendship isn't really a friendship and we act like a married couple. Why do you think that is by the way?' _Nope. That was _definitely _not a conversation she was going to have.

* * *

Oliver stepped out of the elevator into his office. Oddly, Felicity's chair was still empty. He knew she was here. Tommy had told him as much, but she had yet to make her way to her desk and it was already mid-day. Not to mention that her parents were arriving soon and they had to make their way to the airport. He dumped the stack of papers he held on his desk and busied himself with turning off his computer. He tried her cellphone again.

"Hello?"

"Felicity? Where are you?"

"Downstairs. Digg's already got the car ready."

"I'll be right down."

Felicity gave no reply. The line went dead as soon as the final word had rolled off his tongue. He had a sinking feeling that something was wrong, but he pushed it aside and made his way downstairs.

The ride to the airport was silent. Felicity spent the entirety of it looking out the window. Normally, Oliver would have inquired what was wrong, but he was tired. Laurel had kept him up watching movies. As soon as they pulled up at the airport, he spotted his parents. He shook his head in amusement; they were supposed to wait at the house.

"I think you're more excited about my parents coming than I am," Felicity said walking over to his mother. Moira laughed and shrugged.

Robert shook his head in amusement. "Your mom was on the phone with Moira up until your parents stepped in the plane."

People with large suitcases filed out of the airport squealing and excitedly running into the arms of their loved ones. That was always the best part of traveling home, he thought. He glanced over at Felicity who was being bombarded with a plethora of plans his mother had made with Diana. He smiled, remembering the first time he had brought her home with him.

_He'd already met her parents when she'd insisted that he spend Thanksgiving at her place. Now, she was coming to spend Christmas with him. Despite the fact that she didn't technically celebrate Christmas, being Jewish and all, she was quite excited. She'd been her usual talkative self on the plane, but as soon as they landed, she turned quite. She seemed to become more nervous as the time passed and by the time they had made it through immigration, she was so quite that her nerves were rubbing off on him for no reason. _

_ "__Felicity?" He closed the space between them and took hold of her hand as they walked towards the luggage area. _

_ "__Hmm?" _

_ "__Calm down. Everything's going to be fine. My parents will love you and my sister will probably love you so much that she'll practically glue herself to you." _

_She laughed slightly and he could almost feel some of her nerves disappearing. Once they stepped outside however, he could see that she wanted to run right back into the airport. That was before his family spotted them. _

_ "__Oliver!" Thea exclaimed excitedly as she ran right past him and engulfed a very confused Felicity in a bone-crushing hug. "Hi Felicity! It's nice to meet you!" _

_Felicity blinked a few times in confusion before laughing and hugging Thea in return. "It's nice to meet you too Thea." _

_Oliver turned to his parents. His mother usually hugged him for a good two minutes when he returned home, but this time she pecked him briefly on the cheek with a: "Hello Dear," before walking right past him and excitedly hugging Felicity just as Thea let go. _

_Oliver looked at his father in confusion. "So I bring my best friend home with me and suddenly I'm no longer important," he said in mock disappointment. _

_Robert laughed and hugged him. "Welcome home." _

_ "__Thanks dad." He let go of his father and half-turned to his mother and sister who were busy interrogating Felicity on her whole life. "See, at least SOMEONE is glad to see me!" _

_His mother laughed and made her way over to him to give him one of her long hugs. "Sorry. We're just really excited to meet Felicity." _

_He expected Thea to do the same, but she simply shot him an exasperated look, "You know I love you, now stop being such an attention stealer." _

He spotted Richard first. He was much taller than his petite wife. His brown hair had acquired some greys, but other than that, he was still lean and looked the same as he always had. Diana soon appeared, right beside him, her short brown hair bouncing as she waved at them excitedly and made their way through the crowd.

Felicity stepped forward, smiling widely, and ready to hug her mother, but Moira beat her to it and Felicity was left shaking her head in amusement as the two women clung to each other like old friends who hadn't seen each other in ages. She turned to her father, tilting her head to the side and Richard hugged his daughter, lifting her feet off of the ground slightly as he swung her this way and that. Oliver chuckled, as she demanded that Richard set her down.

Diana smiled as she watched her husband set Felicity down. "Oliver!" She exclaimed as she walked past the two of them and towards him.

"Hello Mrs. Smoak," he said as he bent down to hug her.

"Seriously!" Felicity exclaimed, throwing her hands up as she shot him a mock glare.

"Now you know how it feels whenever you and I come back from wherever. My parents always hug you first," Oliver said.

Everyone laughed at that and Diana promptly let go of Oliver to hug Felicity.

* * *

"Remind me again why we took half of the day off," he heard Felicity say from beside him.

He chuckled and cracked an eye open to look at her. Her head was thrown back on the couch. They were both sprawled on the couch. The TV was on, but it was on mute. They weren't watching. Instead, they were listening to Diana and Moira laughing as they unpacked upstairs. Richard and Robert had disappeared to presumably stroll the grounds some time ago and Felicity and Oliver were left alone on the couch. "I remember our parents promising that we'd spend the rest of the day together, but I guess we're not very interesting…"

"So what now?"

Oliver shrugged, knowing that her eyes were closed and that she could not see him. "I don't know…we could take a nap, or you could update my computer…" He was seriously hoping she picked nap.

He felt her spring up off of the couch. "I almost forgot. I've wanted to update your computer for some time now. The new software—"

He groaned loudly in protest.

"You gave me the option. Come on… Let's go."

He groaned again. "You update. I'll nap."

"Fine. Come on."

He got up and slowly trailed behind Felicity. Once they were in his room, he shut the door and discarded his suite jacket. He rolled up his sleeves and sat down on the bed. That's when he noticed that Felicity wasn't sitting in his desk chair. She just stood in front of the computer, staring at the black screen as if she was afraid to touch it.

"You okay?"

Felicity nodded quickly and spun around to face him. "I just realized that I am tired after all. So…Nap."

He lay down and turned on the air-conditioning. Eyes already closed, he patted the spot beside him.

"Erm…I don't think we should…I'll go nap in the guest room where my parents are staying," he heard her say.

He opened his eyes and found that she was already at the door. "What's wrong with this spot?" He swung his legs over the edge and sat up.

"Nothing. It's just that we shouldn't. You have a girlfriend and I have a boyfriend. And we're grown-ups…"

"So?" He asked confused. They did this all the time. He didn't understand why she suddenly found it strange. "We're just taking a nap." But before she responded it hit him. She knew. He froze. Had she caught on to his inner conflict? Had he been less careful than he had thought? Had Thea said something?

"So…don't you think it's a little over the line of friendship?"

He said nothing. She tilted her head and sent him a small sad smile before opening the door and walking out. Sighing, let himself fall backwards onto the bed and covered his face with his hand. Whether she had noticed his internal conflict or not, he knew she was right.

* * *

Stefan tapped his phone gently against the surface of his desk. He'd been trying to make the call for half-an-hour now and he was getting nowhere. He dialed in his code again and opened the dialing screen. With a few quick taps of his fingers he'd set up her number. Now all he had to do was press the green button. The problem was that he didn't _want _to press the button.

He _wanted _to call. He _wanted _to hear her voice. He didn't _want _to say the stupid words he'd decided were necessary. _'Why were they necessary again?'_ He couldn't even remember now. Sighing he watched his finger ghost over the green button. Then he remembered why… _'Oh…right…' _The slightest pressure was applied. The number was dialed. It rang once, twice, thrice.

What was he holding on to really? This was good. This was the best thing. This was good. He repeated the phrase. And then he pressed the red button before the fourth ring could echo through his mind. He jerked the top drawer of his desk open, dumped his phone inside, and left the office.

* * *

His phone rang, but he didn't pick up. Whoever it was, wasn't important, he decided. The annoying sound stopped and he got up. It would be time for dinner soon, so he decided he would make his way downstairs. The halls were filled with pleasant smells and sounds of laughter. He couldn't help but smile too.

His father's booming laughter echoed through the halls and Richard's voice tried to overpower it as he tried to finish the funny story. "Really! You should have seen the guy's face! He couldn't understand what was happening!" At that, his father's laughter increased in volume once more.

Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs the doorbell rang. "I've got it," he bellowed. He opened the door to find a widely smiling Laurel. "Laurel. What are you doing here?" He asked, before he realized how awful that sounded.

Laurel wasn't phased. "You're mom invited me. I called earlier to ask you something and she told me that you were taking a nap. She invited me over for dinner."

He kissed her briefly before stepping aside to let her in. When they entered the living room he noticed that Felicity wasn't there. "Where's Felicity?"

"She went to pick up your sister. Thea's car is still at the garage and we forgot to pick her up…she called some time ago and was quite upset," Moira explained as Laurel introduced herself to Felicity's parents.

* * *

She could feel Thea's eyes boring into the side of her face as she drove. "Don't."

"Don't what?" Thea asked confused. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing…I'm just not in the mood to hear it. Talk about anything else."

"Not in the mood to hear what? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Your brother. I don't want to hear about your brother, so just tell me how your day was."

Thea was silent for a moment. "Look…I'm really sorry if I confused you—"

"You did though." She sighed in frustration. "You did…"

"Licity, I'm sorry. I just thought that you two needed to get a grip and open your damned eyes already. It's really kind of annoying watching you two dance around one another. Maybe I went about it in the wrong way, but I just wanted you guys to admit it and do something about it."

She glanced at the younger Queen. "I know…I know you didn't mean—wait. Did you just say that you wanted _us _to open our eyes?"

"Yeah?" Thea replied hesitantly.

Felicity had to fight the urge not to slam the breaks. _'Calm down,' _she told herself. "Do you mean that you ran the whole _'Oliver and I act like a married couple' _thing by him?"

"Yeah…I kind of did…"

"Thea!" She let out a breath. "What did he say?"

"Whenever I bring it up he gets all defensive and tells me to drop it. He brings up Laurel, but I know he's in denial. The proof is everywhere."

The picture on his computer flashed in her mind, but she pushed it aside. It wasn't really proof of anything. It was just a nice picture. She was stupid to let it affect her. "He brings up Laurel because Laurel is the love of his life and he probably doesn't appreciate you suggesting that he should be with someone else."

"No. He's in denial." Thea said matter-of-factly. "Why aren't there any pictures of _her _in his room?"

Felicity was growing more frustrated by the second. It was clear that Oliver loved Laurel and the little questions that doubted that were just serving to annoy her. "Maybe because she _just _got back and they _just _got together again while I've been there all those years."

"Exactly!" Thea exclaimed. "You've been there all along."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Need I remind you that Laurel has known him for _much _longer. I met him in college."

Thea made a little gesture of indifference. "Whatever. You've known him less time and still _you _managed to make him a better person."

"He was always a good person," she retorted immediately.

"And you saw that…most people didn't. You managed to bring out that good person in— _Wow _I sound like a sappy chick-flick!"

Felicity laughed, "Yes you do. No more talking about your brother…tell me about your day."

* * *

**A/N: So this chapter was more of a bridge. We're almost there I think! The next chapter will have more flashbacks, dinner, some awkward moments, etc. I promise I won't take as long as I did the last time to finally update. I hope you liked it. Let me know what you think!  
**


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